UPDATE: Man shoots and kills wife, attempts suicide

El Paso County Sheriff’s officials say a man shot and killed his wife, then tried to commit suicide by shooting himself Saturday morning.

Officials say at , 8:59 a.m. Saturday, they were dispatched to the 3800 block of Vander Veer in reference to a welfare check.

Upon arrival, Sheriff’s Office deputies found the male and female property owners inside the home with gunshot wounds. The female was dead and the male was taken to a local area hospital in critical condition.

One neighbor told ABC-7 crews the couple were married and said the couple also had a troubled past.

The neighbor said in July the man poured gasoline around the home and threatened to burn it down.

She also told ABC-7 she found the couple’s 5-year-old boy on the sidewalk crying. When she asked the boy what had happened, he replied “They are dead, they are both dead.”

That’s when the woman called 911.

The man survived and is in critical condition.

El Paso County Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Unit and Crime Scene Investigators responded to the scene.

The investigation is open and ongoing with no further information at this time.