An Oklahoma man shot his brother, and five children between the ages of 1 and 9, police and relatives said.
Man killed brother and three nephews
The shooting rampage killed six people, including the suspect's brother and his three nephews, at the Muskogee home. Jarron Deajon Pridgeon, 25, lived with his brother Javarion Lee, 24, whom Jarron killed along with five children in an early Tuesday massacre, police said.
According to Tulsa World, Britanny Anderon, the children's mother, was also shot but in a stable Tulsa hospital.
The young victims were named late Tuesday by police as Jalaiya Pridgeon, 1; Jaidus Pridgeon, 3; Harmony Anderson, 5; Neveah Pridgeon, 6; and Que'dynce Anderson, 9.
Raven Anderson, an aunt of the slain children, said she was trying to grasp what Pridgeon was supposedly inspired by, NY Post reported.
Anderson said to KOTV, "He is not a person, he is a monster. And he's a coward for doing what he did, on top of being a monster... I don't know what kind of individual would do that, let alone a person who could take the lives of their own children."
Why Pridgeon allegedly opened fire is unknown. Muskogee police spokeswoman Lynn Hamlin did not return immediately to a message request for additional comment on early Wednesday.
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After a foot chase at home where cops responded to a call of several people shot and met an armed suspect later identified as a Muskogee man, Pridgeon was arrested.
On Tuesday, Mayor Marlon Coleman released a statement saying the killings left the town "paralyzed with grief."
"Many of us have gone to bed in anticipation of the hopes of tomorrow, only to wake up to know that five children with unlimited potential are no longer with us. Their lives are taken prematurely, their families are grappling with a new horror, and our community is paralyzed by sorrow," Coleman said.
An anonymous donor had promised to pay for the funerals of the victims, KOTV told relatives.
Pridgeon remained in custody Wednesday, the Muskogee Phoenix published, on charges of first-degree murder and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. It's uncertain whether an attorney who would act on his behalf has been hired.
Meanwhile, the neighbors told the newspaper that the victims had moved into the house just weeks before.
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Oklahoma man was charged with six counts of murder
Jarron Deajon Pridgeon of Muskogee was charged with six counts of first-degree murder, shooting during probation with the intent to kill, and possession of firearms, court records show, according to AP News.
The Muskogee police said they do not yet know why Pridgeon fatally shot the children and Javarion Lee. Court and jail records do not list a lawyer who could speak on behalf of Pridgeon.
In the home where the shootings occurred, Pridgeon and the victims lived, Muskogee police said. The Muskogee Phoenix was told by neighbors that they had only recently moved to the house but that the kids often played outside.
Raven Anderson, an aunt to the children, told Tulsa TV station KOTV that Pridgeon was the father of three slain children.
Court records show that in 2019, after being charged with two felony counts for allegedly throwing two large pieces of cement at a woman, hitting her in the torso, Pridgeon received a deferred sentence. A judge ordered a mental health observation and assessment in that case, but those findings are sealed. In that case, Pridgeon's lawyer, Brian Watts, didn't immediately return a message seeking comment.
