Suspect In Queens Quadruple Shooting Found Dead Inside Car
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- The man police were looking for in connection with the fatal shooting of three and critical wounding of another in Queens has been found dead inside his car.
At around 5:40 a.m. Saturday authorities who were called to 231-11 148th Ave. discovered 7-year-old Kayla Walker dead, her 12-year-old sister injured, and their 31-year-old mother Shantai Hale and 62-year-old grandmother Viola Warren dead.
The 12-year-old girl, Christina, was also shot in the head but she managed to call 911, 1010 WINS' Roger Stern reported.
She was rushed to Long Island Jewish Hospital and was listed in stable condition.
"Her speech was somewhat limited but we were able to get a very good statement from her," Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce said.
Suspect In Queens Quadruple Shooting Found Dead Inside Car
Authorities identified the suspect as 34-year-old Jonathon Walker.
Boyce said Walker made a phone call to his brother shortly after the shooting, WCBS 880's Monica Miller reported.
"He states to his brother 'What I did I cannot come back from,'" Boyce said.
Walker was discovered dead with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head inside his car on Lefferts Boulevard near JFK Airport in Queens, Stern reported.
Suspect In Queens Quadruple Shooting Found Dead Inside Car
Family members comforted one another as they arrived at the home on the quiet cul-de-sac.
"I can't believe this happened. I can't believe this happened,'' Doreen Warren, the eldest victim's mother, told the Associated Press.
Warren said the two girls in the shooting are Walker's daughters, "two beautiful girls, sweet girls," and their mother was his girlfriend.
Warren said if Walker was responsible, "he didn't look like he's a person to do that."
Cousin Joseph Simmons said they were a quiet family, but looking back, the couple was having problems.
"I would like to see his dead body to be honest with you. Just to make sure that he's dead," Simmons said.
Simmons said things seemed tense when he last saw the family at Christmas dinner.
"We just noticed that he was acting a little different," he told CBS2's Steve Langford. "It's just you know, it's one of those things that you don't know what to make of it."
Cousin Wendell Warren said so many are stunned by the shooting.
"He was a great father. He loved his kids, I thought they were the world to him," he said. "That's why nobody can understand how in the world he could do this."
Queens District Attorney Richard Brown released a statement, calling the shooting a tragedy.
"This morning's tragedy once again underscores the human toll and horror of domestic violence. Despite the progress that we have made in domestic violence prevention and prosecution, today's events in southeast Queens show that we cannot relent in our efforts to eliminate the scourge of domestic violence. The latest statistics from the Mayor's Office to Combat Domestic Violence show a 41 percent reduction since 2002 in intimate partner homicides. This morning's tragedy demonstrates yet again that even one domestic violence homicide is one too many.
Statistics show that one in four women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime and more than three million children witness domestic violence in their homes every year. If you are a victim of domestic violence or know someone that is I urge you to report it before it is too late. The 24-hour domestic violence hotline number is 1-800-621-HOPE."
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