A man shot his girlfriend and her two young daughters to death in a murder-suicide at a home in a southern New England town last week, authorities said.
Patrick King, 27, murdered his girlfriend, 31-year-old Felisha Matthews, and her two daughters, 4-year-old Ava King and 12-year-old Molina Matthews, then fatally shot himself during a SWAT standoff in Plainville, Connecticut, on Friday, according to Plainville Police Chief Christopher Vanghele
Officers responded to 36 Milford Street in Plainville shortly before 4 p.m. after a woman told dispatchers that her brother “claimed that he shot and killed his girlfriend and his 4-year-old daughter and was going to kill himself, Vanghele revealed during a news conference.
Plainville police set up a perimeter around the home and the surrounding neighborhood. Attempts to communicate with King were unsuccessful, prompting the activation of a SWAT team.
After about two hours of negotiations, a decision was made to deploy pepper gas in the home to get King to surrender, but upon deployment, Vanghele said King killed himself with a single gunshot to the head.
Emergency responders attempted life-saving measures at the scene, and King was rushed to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Officers then found three other bodies with gunshot wounds inside King’s home. Vanghele identified them as King‘s girlfriend, the daughter King shared with her, and a daughter she had from a previous relationship.
Vanghele said investigators haven’t determined a motive in the killings.
Vanghele noted King was “very new” to the community, from the Bristol area, and that the family had moved into the home in January. He also said 12-year-old Molina Matthews was a student at a local school.
“This is a very dark day for the town of Plainville and Connecticut. Our hearts are broken for the senseless loss, and our prayers go out to the family members who lost their loved ones,” Vanghele said.
Plainville Town Manager Mike Paulhus added, “It’s tragic. I’m not sure we’ll ever understand what happened, but we’ll endeavor to do so. It’s hard to make sense of this.”
Vanghele and Paulhus said resources were being made available to grieving members of the community.
The investigation remains active and ongoing.
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