Woman and daughter shot dead outside a North Carolina DSS building, police say
A man fatally shot his wife and her daughter in the parking lot of the Cabarrus County Department of Social Services building in Kannapolis on Wednesday morning and was later found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said.
Gunfire erupted in the parking lot in the 1300 block of South Cannon Boulevard around 8:30 a.m., Kannapolis Police said in a statement.
Police found Maria Julian-Pichardo, 45, and Yamilaine Sosa-Julian, 19, shot dead. They lived in the same home in Harrisburg as the suspected shooter, 51-year-old Rafael Lopez, police said.
An on-duty Cabarrus County sheriff’s deputy who was parked in front of the building heard the gunfire and pursued the shooter as he drove away, police said.
Kannapolis officers and Rowan County deputies joined the chase.
Lopez pulled over in the 1500 block of Lower Palmer Road in Rockwell and shot himself, according to the police statement. That’s 20 miles from the DSS building.
Feb. 1 domestic violence incident
Julian-Pichardo and her daughter were scheduled to meet at DSS Wednesday morning with a social worker regarding a Feb. 1 domestic violence incident at their home, police said.
Police responded to the incident and removed guns from the home, according to a Kannapolis Police statement. Julian-Pichardo was assaulted while the couple’s children were present, police said.
On Feb. 6, police arrested Lopez and charged him with misdemeanor domestic assault. He was freed on $5,000 bail, police said.
On Feb. 14, Lopez was served with a temporary 50-B Domestic Protective Order, police said.
No DSS employees were hurt in Wednesday’s shooting, according to police.
The Kannapolis DSS location was closed for the day, police said. All department services remained available, including at the Milestone location at 4855 Milestone Ave., Kannapolis. Call 704-920-1400 for assistance.
This story was originally published February 19, 2025 at 12:16 PM with the headline "Woman and daughter shot dead outside a North Carolina DSS building, police say."