Kansas father kills 4 children and wife before turning gun on himself, authorities say

The children were identified as girls ages 9, 5 and 3 and a boy, 7. An official said the father had been reported for “aggressive behavior” in the past.

A Kansas man who police said was previously contacted for “aggressive behavior” fatally shot his four young children and their mother before he turned the gun on himself Tuesday, authorities said.

Officers were already at an unrelated car crash two blocks away when they were summoned to a single-family home in Windfield based on a 911 call from a man who identified himself as the shooter, Windfield Police Chief Robbie DeLong said.

“At approximately 8:50 a.m., our officers received a 911 call from a male individual who stated that he had killed his entire family and he was getting ready to kill himself,” DeLong said at a news conference.

The first officer to arrive approached the residence but retreated after hearing a single gunshot, DeLong said. Authorities set up around the home under the assumption they had an armed, barricaded person on their hands, he said.

A little more than two hours after the 911 call, with a regional SWAT team and Cowley County sheriff’s deputies joining the standoff, authorities breached the home and found the bodies, DeLong said.