LAS VEGAS (AP) – A man chased and gunned down his wife outside a drug store and killed their three children at an apartment in Las Vegas before apparently shooting himself, leaving five members of a family dead, authorities said Thursday.
It appears the father killed himself in a bedroom, where he and the kids were found Wednesday night, police Lt. Dan McGrath said. The children ranged in age from 9 to 15, and it was not clear when they died.
The Clark County coroner’s office identified the woman and children as Phoukeo Dej-oudom, 35; Dalavanh Ariel Dej-oudom, a 15-year-old girl; and two boys, Anhurak Jason Dej-oudom, 9, and Xonajuk J.J. Dej-oudom, 14.
The father has not been identified.
The woman was shot and killed around 7:30 p.m. as she ran screaming through the parking lot of a Walgreens store, police said.
A relative of the husband contacted police about half an hour later after getting a text message from him suggesting he was distraught and suicidal at the apartment, McGrath said.