A quiet Delta neighborhood was rocked by gunfire on the morning of June 22, when police say a 75-year-old man opened fire on his own son and his son’s girlfriend before turning the gun on himself. Both victims survived and remain in stable condition, while the suspect—identified as Steven Grubb—died at the scene.

Police say the shooting stemmed from a domestic dispute. Neighbors say they’re stunned.

Longtime Neighbor Says Household Seemed Friendly

Lawrence Duran has lived on G96 Lane for 65 years. It’s not the kind of place, he says, where you expect something like this to happen.

“I didn’t know their names, but we waved,” Duran said of the Grubb family. “They always seemed friendly. Real friendly.”

He described routine neighborly interactions—the kind where no one really knows what’s going on inside the house, but nothing ever seemed off.

Until Sunday morning.

That’s when officers rolled past his home, lights flashing.
One of them stopped and told him, gently, “It’d be better if you went inside.”

He did.

Police Say Shooting Was Targeted, Not Random

Delta Police Chief Luke Fedler held a press conference Tuesday to lay out what investigators currently know. According to Fedler:

• The shooter, Steven Grubb, lived with his 57-year-old son, the son’s 35-year-old girlfriend, and an unrelated 52-year-old man at 1572 G96 Lane.

• There had been escalating tension in the home over the woman’s presence.

• The son had left the house the previous night.

• When he returned the next morning with the woman, Grubb confronted them in the yard.

And then, Fedler said, he started firing.

Sequence of Events: What Happened on G96 Lane

What followed was chaos—quiet, sudden, deadly.

Grubb allegedly fired multiple shots at his son and the girlfriend. Both were struck, more than once, though authorities haven’t detailed where or how many times.

The son collapsed in the yard.

The girlfriend ran.

Police believe the 52-year-old man in the house was possibly targeted too. But somehow, he wasn’t hit.

By the time officers arrived, Grubb was on the ground. Dead from what investigators say was a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

A Small Town’s Peace Shattered

Delta isn’t a big place. Nestled between Montrose and Grand Junction, it’s home to about 9,000 people. Crime happens, but this? This felt different.

Here’s what longtime residents said they felt in the hours after the shooting:

• Shock at the age of the shooter: “Seventy-five? That’s someone’s granddad.”

• Relief the victims survived: “They’re lucky. Flat-out lucky.”

• Concern for others in the home: “The unrelated man—what did he see?”

Table: Key Individuals Involved in Delta Shooting

Grubb had no prior criminal record in Delta County. At least none the police have mentioned publicly so far.

Mental Health, Guns, and Domestic Tension

Fedler stopped short of speculating about motive beyond the household argument. But experts say disputes over living arrangements and romantic relationships often become flashpoints in multi-generational households.

Especially when compounded by isolation, mental health struggles, or untreated anger.

Colorado, like many states, has seen an uptick in domestic violence-related shootings in recent years. And more often than not, police say, the warning signs were private—visible only to those in the home.

Survivors Recover, but Questions Remain

The son and girlfriend remain in the hospital, recovering from their wounds. Authorities have not released their names. Nor have they detailed the severity of their injuries.

They’re expected to survive.

But what happens after that—emotionally, legally, even logistically—is still unclear.

The house on G96 Lane is quiet now. But the silence carries weight.