Former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax shot and killed his wife, Cerina Fairfax, inside their Virginia home and then turned the gun on himself, Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said.

The couple’s two teenage children were inside the home when the shootings occurred, Davis said, noting their son had placed the 911 call.

Fairfax County police responded to the home in Annandale, Virginia, shortly after midnight, where they found a man and woman dead inside, police said earlier. The same firearm appears to have been used in both shootings, Davis said.

The shooting stemmed from an ongoing domestic dispute surrounding “what seems to be a complicated or messy divorce,” Davis said.

Detectives have reviewed the incident using “a lot of cameras,” which were set up inside the home as part of the couple’s ongoing divorce proceedings, Davis said. He noted that a call to police by Justin Fairfax in January, alleging assault by his wife, was not corroborated.

“So tragic for the children to lose both parents, extra tragic for them to actually be in the home when it occurred,” Davis said. “Certainly, a fall from grace for a relatively high-profile family that seemingly had a lot of things going in their favour.”

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

Fairfax faced calls for resignation following sexual assault allegations against him in 2019.

This is a developing story.