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TUCSON - Tucson Police believe the ex-boyfriend of a Tucson woman allegedly shot and killed her, then turned the gun on himself - but survived, police say.

The woman who lived in the southeast-side home where the shooting occurred was in her 30's, and was a mother of two young children. She had recently posted a security sign at her home, neighbors say.

"She was very gentle, very sweet, very sincere, and honest," one neighbor told News 4 Tucson.

Police say the woman called a friend to say her ex-boyfriend was at the door. The friend then called police, but it was too late; they broke through the window to get inside when no one answered.

"The initial indications are that the male is the suspect in this case, he came to residence, forced entry into the residence, and then shot the female victim prior to turning the gun on himself," says Tucson Police spokesperson Sgt. Matt Ronstadt.

Police say the victim had a restraining order against her ex-boyfriend.

One the neighbors, who asked not to be identified, says police had come to the residence before.

"Anytime a working mother honest, dutiful human being is hurt it's very tragic, she was definitely a good person and a very good mommy because I always saw that her kids were very happy," the neighbor says.

Investigators say the children weren't in the house when the shooting took place.

News 4 Tucson contacted the victim's employer, who told us they were grieving the loss of their co-worker and they needed time to grasp what was happening.

Investigators aren't releasing the names until relatives have been notified.

As for the ex-boyfriend, we understand he is in the hospital and has life threatening injuries.

News 4 Tucson talked to the Emerge! Center Against Domestic Violence for their take on this tragedy.

"We do see many times where an ex-partner will try to come back to the person they have been abusing and basically say they've changed and they've been working on themselves, when in reality that patterns tends to repeat itself over and over," says Anna Stevens-Denae with Emerge.

This leads to a "pattern of physically or the emotional abuse turning physical which is where they tend to believe everything is okay - the cycle just repeats itself again," she says.

If you would like more inforamtion on domestic abuse situations, contact Emerge at:

http://www.emergecenter.org/ or call 1-888-428-0101