The District Attorney’s office is holding off on officially identifying the couple.
A 13-year-old and their 4-year-old sibling had to jump through a window and run to a neighbor’s house in order to escape the Oxford, Massachusetts, home in which their parents died of an apparent murder-suicide, People reported.
On Tuesday, the children's parents were found dead in an apparent murder-suicide perpetrated by the children’s father, People reported.
Shots were fired shortly around 5:20 p.m. and that is when the 13-year-old took their 4-year-old sibling and jumped out a window and ran to a neighbor’s home, ABC-6 reported. The children had a 3-year-old sibling who was left inside the house but was not injured.
When the two older children ran to the neighbor’s house, they called 911. Shots could be heard in the background by the dispatcher, according to CBS Boston.
"The 13-year-old was a pretty courageous young kid," Worcester District Attorney Joseph Early said Tuesday night, according to NECN.com. "He took the 4-year-old in his arms and opened a window, ran out the window to a neighbor's house."
Cops say the shooter, a male, shot his girlfriend in the kitchen following an argument and then died by suicide later. The adult female was found in the kitchen with gunshot wounds, while the adult male was found in the backyard with a gunshot wound, CBS Boston reported.
Animal control officers removed the family’s two Rottweilers Wednesday, CBS Boston reported.
Other neighbors said police had been to the Oxford property before and had responded to complaints about the dogs barking. Neighbors also said they also heard the couple fighting often and knew there were guns in the home, CBS Boston reported.
“I just wish I had gotten more, kind of a sign from her, that it was that serious,” one neighbor, Alex Clemens, told CBS Boston. “I feel like I could have done something.”
The couple had three children living with them, People reported. The two younger kids were theirs together, CBS Boston reported. The older child was the woman's from a previous marriage, according to WesternMassNews.com.
All three children are receiving trauma-related services, cops said. The children are now in the care of their relatives.
