B’day bloodbath vics

Mom, sons, sibs among Colo. slain

The victims of the murder-suicide in Colorado that left six people and the gunman dead have been identified — as it was revealed that one massacre survivor was the woman whose birthday they were there to celebrate.

Those killed in the Colorado Springs bloodbath were identified as Joana Cruz, 53, and her sons, José Gutierrez, 21, and Melvin Perez, 30; Melvin’s wife, Mayra, 32; and Mayra’s sister, Sandra Ibarra, and brother, José Ibarra, according to The Gazette newspaper.

Survivor Nuvia Marquez, 28, said the extended family were celebrating her birthday and also the upcoming birthdays of her brother, Melvin, who would have turned 31 this week, and their mother, Joana, who would have turned 54.

“My mom had always liked celebrating them together,” said Marquez, who was at the party with her husband, Freddy Marquez.

The celebration was inside a trailer at the Canterbury Manufactured Home Community, a mobile home park of largely Latino residents about 70 miles south of Denver.

Marquez identified the suspected gunman as Sandra’s boyfriend. He arrived at the birthday party shortly after midnight Sunday and opened fire before taking his own life, according to the Colorado Springs Police Department.

Freddy described the shooter as “quiet” and “serious,” and said he always carried a gun. He had met the man only once and said “there was nothing out of the ordinary” about him.

Of mother-in-law Cruz, he said she was “loving” and “hardworking.”

“She was always laughing,” he told the Gazette, adding that her sons were “just like their mom. They were all great people.”

A fundraiser for funeral expenses had raised more than $7,500 by Monday morning.

A woman who lives near the mobile home park said she woke up to the sound of what she believes were gunshots and then heard crying outside.

“And on Mother’s Day,” said the woman, who did not wish to be named.

In a statement, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis called the mass shooting a “terrible act of violence,” occurring as “many of us are spending the day celebrating the women in our lives who have made us the people we are today.”

He added: “Families torn apart, and at a birthday party, no less.”

Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers called the attack a “senseless act of violence.”

“Today we find ourselves mourning the loss of lives and praying solemnly for those who were injured and those who lost family members,” Suthers said in a statement. “We think, too, of the emergency personnel who responded to a horrific scene and we keep them in our prayers today.”

Police Chief Vince Niski said the officers who responded “are all left incredibly shaken.”

“This is something you hope never happens in your own community, in the place that you call home,” he said.

“My vow to this community and to the families who have lost someone today is that this department will do everything we can to find you the answers you deserve and be here for you with an unwavering support,” the chief added.