3 Dead In Murder-Suicide At Tinker Air Force Base

[snuffy]

3 Dead In Murder-Suicide At Tinker Air Force Base

TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- An Air Force member killed his two children before killing himself in a military campus house at Tinker Air Force Base on Monday, authorities said.

According to Oklahoma County Sheriff John Whetsel, a military member and his ex-wife were involved in an altercation just before 2:30 p.m. The ex-wife left the home and heard gunshots, Whetsel said.

Tactical teams arrived by about 2:40 p.m. Nearly two hours later, they gained entry into the home, where they found three people dead -- including two children, ages 4 and 8.
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Whetsel said his department is investigating the incident along with OSI.

Tinker Air Force Base has 26,000 military and civilian employees. It is the largest single-site employer in Oklahoma.

Stay tuned to Eyewitness News 5 and koco.com for further details.

http://www.koco.com/news/15405413/detail.html

[Verb]

Wow. Lot of that going on this world today.

Yorba Linda was stunned by a murder suicide Saturday night. We have no crime here, especially not violent crime. These poor, poor children...


Family Killed in Apparent Murder-Suicide
By ALICIA CHANG,
AP
Posted: 2008-02-25 09:55:43
Filed Under: Crime News, Nation News
LOS ANGELES (Feb. 24) - A 14-year-old boy was the lone survivor of an apparent murder-suicide that left five family members, including three children, dead across the street from the Richard Nixon Library.

A neighbor dialed 911 late Saturday to report shots fired. Two minutes later, the teen told police that his father had shot him and his brother at their condo complex in Yorba Linda, a bedroom community about 40 miles southeast of Los Angeles.

Police found five people, including three children, dead of gunshot wounds. The teen's mother was discovered on the doorstep, said Lt. Jack Conklin of the Brea Police Department, which was investigating.

Inside the home, police found the bodies of two girls in a bedroom; they had apparently been asleep in their beds. The body of a boy was discovered in another bedroom, along with the body of a man with a shotgun beneath him. Authorities are still figuring out a motive but believe the father was the gunman.

The victims were identified as Orland Cho, 41; Maricel Cho, 39; Nicole Cho, 9; Kathleen Cho, 8; and Christopher Cho, 5. Authorities believe that the couple were married and that the teen was the woman's son from a previous relationship.

The teen, identified as Ian Mercado, was shot in the lower torso and underwent surgery at a hospital. He was expected to survive, but police can't interview him until Monday because he remained sedated.

"At this point, he's the only surviving eyewitness," Conklin said Sunday.

The shooting rampage stunned police and residents of Yorba Linda, home to the Nixon Library. Conklin said the region has a low crime rate, with a homicide every few years.

"It's a very, very safe community," Conklin said. "This is very unusual."

The teen gave police a brief statement at the scene, recounting what he told the 911 dispatcher. It appeared the boy was unaware that his mother and sisters had also been shot, Conklin said.

On Sunday, coroner's officials removed the bodies while police searched the condo for evidence. Autopsies were planned.

Neighbor Reggie Straughter told the Orange County Register that he was watching television when he heard a loud sound. He ran outside and saw what he believed was a flash.

[BourbonPoke]

It was crazy out here yesterday. I was out by base housing when all this went down. About 50 sheriffs cars flew on base and blocked all traffic. We were told to get back to our building and stay there until further notice. Base went on lock down until about 4:00 when all bu tthe two gates by housing were opened up. Very sad that the kids were part of this. There's a special place in hell for this piece of sh!t.

[OrangeHaze]

I stayed in the building on base I work at until 4:30 and the traffic rush out was on...We got word about it on the internet and not our base warning system...This is just a sad situation, definite prayers need to go out to the mother of those two kids...

[BourbonPoke]

What building are you in Haze?? I'm in Bldg 1

[OrangeHaze]

469

[BourbonPoke]

469

Is that headquarters?? I'm still trying to get acclimated to the base.

[OrangeHaze]

No, it's closer to the Air Depot gate...HQ is probably either Bldg. 3001 or Bldg. 460...