An Ohio man allegedly ambushed his wife as she tried to move out, fatally shooting her two children and the father of the eldest before turning the gun on himself in a grisly apparent murder-suicide, cops said.
Ryan Eagon, 42, went on the deadly rampage Wednesday night, killing the 7-month-old baby he shared with his wife, her 7-year-old son, and the child’s father after discovering his spouse was moving out of their Seneca County home amid ongoing domestic troubles, according to the Tiffin Police Department.
“As a community, we are not accustomed to events of this horrific and heartbreaking nature in Tiffin,” Police Chief David Pauly said in a Facebook post Wednesday.
“I ask that all residents keep the victims’ families in their thoughts as they face unimaginable loss.”
Police said the traumatized wife, who was unharmed, was gathering her belongings with 29-year-old Dustin Willey — the father of their 7-year-old — while the children waited by the car.
The pair reportedly believed Eagon was out of town.
While packing, the duo heard the older child cry out and went to check on him — only to find Eagon standing in the driveway.
The armed dad chased Willey, firing at him multiple times before gunning down both children.
Eagon then unleashed more rounds at his wife’s co-parent before taking his own life with a single, self-inflicted gunshot, police said.
The shaken mother — who police said was in a state of “shock, overwhelmed and visibly traumatized — called authorities and carried her lifeless children back inside the home.
The infant and Eagon were pronounced dead at the scene. The 7-year-old and his doting father were both transported to local hospitals, where they later died from their injuries.
A community vigil will be held Sunday at 6 p.m. at the East Green on E. Market Street, police said.
Willey’s former boss, Kelly Gallagher, remembered him as a devoted dad who adored his son and would go to any lengths to help others, WTVG reported.
“He was a good father. He would do anything for that boy,” she said.
“He just showed what it’s like to be a single dad and that he was going to be a part of his life. He did a lot with him. It’s tragic because especially when you find out, it happened to somebody who’s got the biggest heart. Is the kindest person. Would do anything for anybody. It’s kind of like losing a family member.”
Police said autopsies are pending from the Seneca County Coroner’s Office.
The investigation remains ongoing.
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