Man shoots child, woman, then himself on live video: ‘Tragic for everybody’

A 33-year-old man who described himself as an Army veteran is believed to have killed a child and shot his girlfriend before turning the gun on himself while airing a Facebook Live video Friday.

The murder-suicide happened just after 11:30 a.m. Friday at a Miami Township apartment off Spring Valley Drive.

Police did not release any names of those involved, but said they found the man and a 5-year-old boy dead, and a 27-year-old woman critically wounded.

Regional dispatch received a call shortly before from a man who said he planned to kill his girlfriend, her son and himself, Miami Township Police Chief Ron Hess said.

“We believe as soon as he called regional dispatch….that he shot himself,” Hess said.

The woman was in critical condition at Kettering Health Network, Hess said.

A series of calls were made to regional dispatch after the initial one by the suspected shooter. Some of the people who saw the Facebook Live video also called 911 to let police know.

“This is tragic for everybody,” Hess said.

Miami Township police have no history with the man or — in recent years — the address, Hess said.

All three people lived at the apartment at Preserve of Sagebrook, Hess said. The apartment is the 3000 block of Sagebrook Drive off Spring Valley Road between the Dayton Mall and Austin Landing.

Police evacuated two nearby apartments before entering the residence in question, he said.

“It’s just sad, horrible. It breaks my heart,” said one woman who called 911 after she saw the video.

The woman asked not to be identified but said she is Facebook friends with the gunman and happened to be online when the video aired.

“He did apologize to everybody, saying he loved them,” the woman said, saying she saw him shoot himself. “It’s just sad, just really sad.”

The woman dialed 911 and learned officers were already on the way.

“Man, it’s horrible, and depression is real, and you never know what someone is going through,” she said.

Several township units and police from Washington Township responded, Hess said. State BCI investigators also responded to the scene.

No details on the type of weapon used or how many times those involved were shot were made available Friday.

Hess called the incident “a fluid and ongoing investigation.”

Going forward, police will investigate the background of those involved.

“We’ll talk with their neighbors, talk with their co-workers and see what that brings to light,” he said.

People who live in the area said they never see officers there.

“It’s very quiet, very quiet. Literally nothing, that’s why we like it,” Cindy Bockrath said.

The Montgomery County coroner was called to the scene about an hour after police received the initial call shortly before noon.

“There’s too much we don’t know,” Capt. John Magill said at the scene as events unfolded.

After the initial call, Magill said, SWAT was called, but later called off.

The shooter himself called 911, as did several others, including a woman identifying herself as the suspect’s mother.

“He just called me a minute ago and said that he loved us and that he killed his girlfriend and her baby,” the suspect’s mother said in a 911 call.

About the Authors