KANNAPOLIS, N.C. – A man fatally shot his wife and daughter Wednesday morning at a Cabarrus County social services office before taking his own life after a police pursuit.

The shooting occurred about 8:30 a.m. in the Department of Social Services parking lot at 1303 S. Cannon Blvd.

A Cabarrus County sheriff’s deputy who was parked outside the building heard gunshots and saw the shooter flee in a vehicle, police said. The deputy called in the incident and pursued the shooter, with Kannapolis police and Rowan County deputies joining the chase.

The pursuit ended in the Rowan County town of Rockwell, in the 1500 block of Lower Palmer Road, where the shooter, identified as Rafael Lopez, 51, stopped his vehicle and shot himself. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

When officers arrived at the social services office, they found Maria Julian-Pichardo, 45, and her daughter, Yamilaine Sosa-Julian, 19, dead from gunshot wounds. Police said the shootings stemmed from domestic violence.

Lopez and Julian-Pichardo were married, and authorities had been investigating since Feb. 1, when domestic violence was reported at their home in Harrisburg with their children present. After that incident, firearms were removed from the home.

On Feb. 6, Lopez was charged with misdemeanor domestic assault and released on $5,000 bail. He was later served with a temporary protective order on Feb. 14.

Julian-Pichardo and Sosa-Julian were at the social services office Wednesday morning for a scheduled meeting with a social worker regarding the Feb. 1 incident.

No social services employees were hurt in the shooting. Authorities are working to determine how Lopez got the weapon used in the shooting.

The Kannapolis Police Department and the Cabarrus County Sheriff’s Office are investigating.