2 National Guard members, woman shot dead in Nevada IHOP

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New information emerged late Tuesday regarding the man who opened fire at an IHOP in Carson City, Nev., killing two uniformed National Guard members and a woman before killing himself.

Eduardo Sencion, 32, of Carson City drove a blue minivan about 9 a.m into a strip mall on Carson Street, a main throughway in the city, and began shooting at a woman on a motorcycle, Bethany Drysdale, an incident spokeswoman, told The Times late Tuesday.

Sencion then stormed into the IHOP through the front door, went to the back of the restaurant where five National Guard members were eating breakfast, and opened fired. All five guardsmen and a woman were hit, Drysdale said.

The woman and two of the guardsmen later died of their wounds.

Sencion then left the IHOP and began firing at other restaurants and businesses in the strip mall before shooting himself in the head. He was taken to Carson-Tahoe Hospital, where he later died, Drysdale said.

In addition to those killed, eight people were wounded.

Sencion was armed with an assault rifle similar to an AK-47, but it was unclear whether the rifle was an automatic or semiautomatic, Carson City Sheriff Kenny Furlong said. Authorities discovered two more guns in the van -- a rifle and a pistol -- which were not used in the attack.

The shooting rattled the quiet capital, where this type of violence is rare, Furlong said.

“We haven’t had a homicide in this town for four years,” he told The Times.

Authorities were unable to discover a motive for the shootings. A team from the FBI is assisting with the investigation, Furlong said.

Interviews with Sencion’s family suggest he was mentally unstable. He had no criminal history, was not a member of the military and had no connection to the diners at the restaurant, Furlong said.

There was also no indication that he targeted the guardsmen because of their military affiliation, Furlong said.

“We don’t think they were targeted specifically,” he said. “But they took the brunt of it.”

Sencion worked in a family business in nearby South Lake Tahoe, Calif. He was born in Mexico and had a valid U.S. passport, authorities said.

After the attack, state officials locked down the Capitol and Supreme Court buildings for about 40 minutes and placed extra security at state and military buildings.

The van Sencion drove is registered to his brother and was adorned with a yellow sticker that read “Support our troops.”

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