Update: A Marine veteran suspected of killing his ex-wife and five of her relatives amid a child custody dispute has reportedly been found dead in woods about 200 yard from his home near Philadelphia, police sources told Fox affiliate WTXF-TV, adding that he might have killed himself.
Bradley William Stone, a former Marine reservist who served from 2002 to 2011, went on a shooting rampage at three separate locations outside Philadelphia on Monday - allegedly killing his ex-wife, his former mother-in-law, former grandmother-in-law, sister-in-law, brother-in-law and 14-year-old niece.
While hospitals and other public places increased security on Tuesday, some schools were closed and residents remained on heightened alert, New York Daily News reported.
"Stone may be wearing military fatigues, in either sand or green color," the district attorney's office said in a statement posted to Facebook, adding that the suspect is known to use a cane or walker.
On Monday night, a knife-wielding, fatigue-clad man resembling Stone confronted a pedestrian walking his dog in Doylestown, Bucks County, according to a statement from Doylestown Township. Attempting a carjacking, the assailant had demanded for the pedestrian's vehicle keys.
But the unidentified victim, who had a gun, resisted, fell to the ground, and fired multiple shots at the suspect, according to the statement, which added that the assailant was last seen running into the woods.
The man matching Stone's description was described as a white male approximately 5'10" wearing camouflage clothing, according to the victim, according to ABC News.
Monday's shooting rampage started before dawn at the home of Stone's former sister-in-law in Souderton and ended about 90 minutes later at ex-wife Nicole Stone's apartment in nearby Harleysville, prosecutors said.
Just before 5 a.m. Monday, Stone's former wife, 33-year-old Nicole Stone, was found dead after a neighbor saw the 35-year-old suspect fleeing with their two young daughters. He took the children to a neighbor's home before the shootings began, Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri told reporters, adding that they are safe.
Later, police authorities found five more dead bodies in two other houses, the Associated Press reported. His former nephew, 17, was also found wounded and immediately rushed to a hospital in Philadelphia for treatment.
Brad Stone and his ex-wife had been locked in a court fight over their children's custody since she filed for divorce in 2009. Early this month, he had filed an emergency motion, although the resulting Dec. 9 ruling remains sealed in court files.
"She would tell anybody who would listen that he was going to kill her and that she was really afraid for her life," said Evan Weron, a neighbor at the Pheasant Run Apartments in Harleysville.
Matthew Schafte, who told ABC News that he's known Stone for 20-plus years, said he broke down in tears when he heard about the shootings.
"I would describe him as a laid-back guy -- loving his family, loving his country. I know he had issues with his children over a custody battle or something," he said. "A decorated veteran, who would do anything for his country, anything for anybody."
"I just broke down in tears. I couldn't believe it, I couldn't believe it, because this isn't the Brad that I know."
"A couple of months ago, I was hanging out with him, we sat down and had a drink," he added. "We were just talking about old times, how everybody was doing, and he told me he was going through some things with his kids, but that's about it."
Stone, whom U.S. Marine Corps records show served in Iraq and held the rank of sergeant at the time of his discharge in 2008, is described as 5-foot-10, weighing 195 pounds, according to the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office. He has an auburn beard and mustache with closely cropped hair.
