Former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax shot and killed his wife, Cerina Fairfax, inside their Virginia home before killing himself, Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said.

The two teenage children of the couple were at home during the shootings, Davis said, adding that their son had placed the 911 call.

The shooting follows an ongoing domestic dispute regarding “what seems to be a complicated or messy divorce,” Davis said during a briefing on Thursday morning.

Fairfax County officers responded to an emergency call from Fairfax’s son just after midnight, saying that he thought his mother had been stabbed, the police said.

When investigators arrived, they found bullet casings near her body. “I think it all kind of happened at once,” Davis said. “There wasn’t a pause … it all happened pretty spontaneously.”

The couple had been living together but were separated, as stated by the police.

“This is certainly a fall from grace for a relatively high-profile family that seemingly had a lot of things going for them,” Davis said. “Tragic for the children to lose both parents. Extra tragic for them to actually be in the home when it occurred.”

The shootings have left political leaders in shock. “Pam and I are devastated by this heartbreaking news. I had the privilege of getting to know the Fairfaxes while our families served together,” former governor Ralph Northam said in a statement on Thursday morning.

Fairfax, a Democrat, was lieutenant governor under Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam from 2018 to 2022. He also ran for governor of Virginia in 2021. He went on to practice law after serving as lieutenant governor while his wife worked as a dentist.

Pressure mounted on Fairfax to resign following sexual assault allegations against him in 2019.

Investigations into the shootings continue. So far, detectives have reviewed the incident using “a lot of cameras,” which were set up inside the home amid the divorce proceedings, Davis said.