Mass. father shoots 7-year-old daughter and 9-year-old son -commits suicide www.privateofficer.com
OXFORD, Mass. July 30 2012 – A father shot his 7-year-old daughter and 9-year-old son before taking his own life. The 7-year-old daughter did not make it; the 9-year-old boy is fighting for his life.
A police officer pointed his gun at a mother who came home to find a crime scene at her house.
“I didn’t do anything,” she cried.
Colleen Benway was initially handcuffed by police. She was quickly released and escorted to the hospital to see her son.
Neighbors said the woman wasn’t home when an ambulance turned up to take away her husband and one of her two young children.
“I’ve been here 43 years, never seen so many police cars in my life,” said one neighbor Angelo Cascione.
Friends and neighbors watched as officers taped off the two apartment home on Main Street in oxford. People at the house next door say they didn’t hear anything unusual. They only knew there was problem when they saw all the lights outside.
“I never seen anything wrong I don’t know what the heck’s going on. I used to be over there all the time I don’t understand,” said Amanda Ahearn, a friend of the family.
Family and friends were surprised by the tragedy.
“He seemed fine when I was younger. He was a nice guy. Always nice to me. He didn’t seem like the type of person to do something like this,” said Ahearn.
Friends said the family of four lived upstairs. They shared the house with relatives downstairs. Neighbors and relatives are hoping for some kind of good news about the kids who live here.
“I know it’s serious because I’ve been here 43 years and nothing like this has ever happened,” said Cascione.
Police got a 911 call around 5p.m. about gunshots fired in the suburban oxford neighborhood.
“It’s a horrible scene, it’s a horrible situation 03:03 we have a 7-year-old girl dead, a 9-year-old boy wounded. It doesn’t get any worse than this,” said Joseph Early Jr. of the Worcester County District Attorney’s office.
The DA’s office said a 41-year-old man shot his two children before turning the gun on himself. The 9-year-old boy is now in the hospital fighting for his life.
Officials said the man had separated from his wife about a month ago. His gun license had expired in 1999.
Police are expected to be on the scene for most of the evening.
Source:www1.whdh.com
