WALLKILL, N.Y. (AP) – Authorities say a former police officer shot his two children to death as they slept in their New York home before he turned the gun on himself.
State police say troopers and officers with the Wallkill Police Department responded Thursday evening to a 911 call reporting an unresponsive man at a home in the Orange County town of Wallkill, about 60 miles northwest of New York City.
They say John Casullo used a .45-caliber pistol to kill 8-year-old James and 12-year-old Kathleen in their bedrooms. Troopers say he then shot himself in the head.
Police say the children’s mother discovered the bodies after arriving home from work.
The 48-year-old Casullo used to work for the police department in the nearby town of Newburgh. Town police aren’t commenting on the case.