Michael Jace called his father-in-law after he shot his wife

Los Angeles  — Actor Michael Jace, who is charged with killing his wife, called and told his wife's father about the shooting and asked him to come for the couple's two young children soon after it happened, an emergency call released Thursday indicates.

In the three-minute call, the father of April Jace told a dispatcher that his son-in-law had called and texted him about the shooting.

"My son-in-law called me, and (texted) me, and said come get the kids because he shot April, our daughter," the caller, whose name was redacted from the audio, told a fire department dispatcher.

Michael Jace, who played a police officer on the acclaimed TV series The Shield, was arrested on May 19, and police have said he also called police directly to report that he had shot his wife. That police call was not released.

Jace has been charged with murder but has not yet entered a plea.

His father-in-law called police while driving to the Los Angeles home of the couple. By then, police had already been notified of the shooting, according to the audio.

Michael Jace's attorneys Jason Sias and Jamon Hicks did not comment on the content of the audio but noted that the case is relatively new and they were still investigating.

Motive for shooting not disclosed

"We have the utmost concern for the Jace children," Sias and Hicks wrote. "Mr. Jace has a constitutional right to a defense. It remains extremely early and we are still in the fact-finding process."

Police have not disclosed a possible motive for the shooting but previously said they were investigating whether it was prompted by financial difficulties or other marital problems. Michael Jace had filed for bankruptcy in 2011 and had fallen behind on payments to creditors as recently as December.

The family of April Jace released a statement last week calling her death "a senseless act of domestic violence." The family said it was rallying around April Jace's three sons, who range in ages from 5 to 18.

April Jace, 40, a financial aid counselor at Biola University, had two sons with her husband, both of whom were at home at the time of her killing. They were uninjured. Her oldest son was from a previous marriage.

Michael Jace also appeared on the show Southland and had small roles in the movies Planet of the Apes, Boogie Nights and Forrest Gump.