COLUMBUS, Ohio — Police believe an Ohio father fatally shot his two daughters before killing himself on New Year’s Day.
According to WTOL and WCMH, the apparent murder-suicide occurred shortly before 10:30 a.m. Friday at a home on Danwood Drive in Columbus. Columbus police responded to a domestic violence call and arrived to the sound of gunfire, authorities said. Officers discovered three people who had suffered gunshot wounds: Aaron Williams, 32, and his two daughters, Alyse Williams, 6, and Ava Williams, 9, the news outlets reported.
Emergency crews rushed the girls to a nearby hospital, where doctors pronounced them dead, police said. Their father died at the scene, according to the news outlets.
“Overnight, our officers responded to a horrific tragedy – two little girls, 6 and 9-year-old, shot to death by their father, who then took his own life,” Columbus police Chief Tom Quinlan said in a statement obtained Saturday by WCMH. “Our hearts break for their devastated mother and all who loved them. This morning I’m not only thinking of them – but the officers impacted by this trauma.”