Shortly after residents in an Arizona neighborhood were rattled in the night by what sounded like fireworks, police discovered the body of a man who was undergoing mental health treatment- along with his two young children.
The Surprise Police Department responded to a welfare check on Monday after the estranged wife of Brock Mater, 34, called and asked for a welfare check on her children.
The woman said she was going through a divorce and her children were visiting their father over the weekend.
Police say she became concerned after the children's school called to report an unexcused absence. She told officers that she had attempted to call Mater multiple times but he never answered.
She then went to his home and knocked on the door multiple times without a response and called the police after she saw the father's vehicle at the home.
Officers forced their way into the home and found the victims with gunshot wounds to the head.
The children were 7-year-old Alec and 6-year-old Lydia.
They found a rife across Mater's lap.
Neighbors reported hearing "loud noises, possibly fireworks," in the area on Sunday evening, Surprise Police Sgt. Rick Hernandez said.
"This is a tragic incident, and our thoughts are with the victims' family during this difficult time," the Surprise Police Department said in a statement.
The department some of the same officers who responded to the murder suicide scene had been involved with a recent hostage situation where a man shot his baby multiple times before killing himself.
If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide or struggling with suicidal thoughts, help is available 24 hours a day through the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988. You are not alone.
