The murder-suicide happened Thursday before 8 p.m., in Monroe.
Cops say a Louisiana mom shot and killed her five-month-old daughter and three of her other children, as well as a friend and neighbor, before turning the gun on herself late last week. Brittany Tucker, 30, allegedly took the lives of her children, neighbor and her own after accusing the neighbor of laughing around 8 p.m. Thursday.
Tucker, who reportedly suffered from mental illness, was handling her recently purchased a gun around her Monroe apartment complex when she confronted her 20-year-old neighbor, Anteshia Longwood, saying: "What are you laughing at?"
Tucker shot and killed Longwood before going into her home and shooting all four of her own children, whose ages ranged from five months old to 12 years old.
“All four children died as a result of their injuries," Monroe Police Chief Reggie Brown told reporters Friday at a press conference.
Tucker then turned the gun on herself before police arrived to the scene, police said.
"After speaking with witnesses who were present over the past couple of days, Ms. Tucker was showing irrational behavior with the gun in hand, and no one felt the need to reach out to law enforcement or anyone of that nature to let us know she was showing irrational behavior and possessing a firearm," Brown said. "We could have responded and got her some help because that was a cry for help."
Tucker was receiving treatment for mental illness but “appeared to be in a mental crisis, and the mental health crisis continued to get worse and her state of mental health deteriorated over the past two or three days," Brown said.
“Brittany Tucker, she is a victim in this as well,” he added. “This a tragic incident that we wish we would have been able to prevent."
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline provides confidential support for people in distress 24/7. People can call the hotline at 1-800-273-8255, or chat online at www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org
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