UPDATE: 2 Found Dead In Hughson Home Were Former Feuding Neighbors
HUGHSON (CBS13) - A Hughson man who was being chased by deputies led them to a home on Wednesday where hours later investigators found two men dead inside.
The chase started on Eaton Road and ended on 7th Street.
Two men were dead inside the home where deputies say they heard gunfire and a woman running out of the home screaming before they found the bodies inside.
The victim was identified Thursday as Nick Kounias, 45, of Hughson. The suspect has been identified as John Szuggar, 52, of Hughson, who was the second person found dead inside of the home.
On Thursday, the Stanislas County Sheriff's Department released additional information about the investigation, stating that Kounias and Szuggar were former neighbors with an ongoing feud. They said that after Szuggar ran into the home, both men exchanged gunfire.
Detectives believe that Kounias may have been acting in self-defense. Detectives are calling the findings preliminary and have sent evidence to the Department of Justice lab for testing.
Detectives are still investigating to determine why Szuggar ended the pursuit at Kounias's home.
The incident shocked neighbors.
"It's a good place to live, and this doesn't happen," said Hughson resident Heather Hughes.
Stanislaus County deputies swarmed the neighborhood well into the night Wednesday.
After the SWAT team made the discovery of two men dead inside the home, deputies wouldn't say whether one of them was the man they were trying to help.
"We got a report of a man that was suicidal," said Raj Singh of Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department.
Investigators say they received a call around 1 p.m. about a suicidal man near Oakdale inside his truck with a gun.
They spotted him as he made his way back to Hughson.
"One of the deputies spotted the vehicle, got behind the vehicle, waited for several other units to arrive," said Singh.
From there, deputies say they turned on their lights and sirens but they say the suspect never pulled over.
He went the speed limit for about three or four miles until he turned onto 7th Street, then eventually turning into a driveway of the home.
"Once this suspect got to this house, he pulls into the driveway, exits the vehicle, and ran into the house," said Singh.
That's when deputies say they heard gunshots coming from in the home, a woman ran out yelling there were others inside.
The SWAT team surrounded the home before finding the bodies of two men.
"How did it happen? What's going through this poor guy's mind thinking that this is OK?" wondered Hughes.
