Police charged an Oklahoma man with six counts of first-degree murder after he allegedly killed his 24-year-old brother and five children, three of whom were his own, according to authorities.
The suspect is 25-year-old Jarron Deajon Pridgeon of Muskogee, who police say shot and killed six people at his residence Tuesday. Officials did not say what prompted the incident.
The deceased are Pridgeon’s brother, Javarion Lee, and five children, including three of Pridgeon’s own. Three other children in the home were not harmed, police said. Authorities identified the children who died as Jalaiya Pridgeon, 1; Jaidus Pridgeon, 3; Harmony Anderson, 5; Neveah Pridgeon, 6; and Que’dynce Anderson, 9.
A seventh victim, Brittany Anderson, the children’s mother, was shot and wounded. She is reportedly in stable condition.
The Muskogee Police Department responded to gunfire reports at a residence around 1:30 a.m. local time on Tuesday. Pridgeon confronted police officers who arrived at the scene, and they arrested him after a foot chase.
Officers then entered the home and found one dead “adult male” and “four small children” who had succumbed to their wounds, police said. A fifth child was rushed to a local hospital and pronounced dead at the medical facility. Raven Anderson, the children’s aunt, confirmed to a local outlet that Pridgeon was the father of three of the slain children.
According to a report, court records show the suspect had previously been evaluated for mental illness after receiving an assault charge in 2019. He subsequently pleaded guilty in September 2019 to a felony count of assault and battery and five misdemeanor counts to resolve both cases. A plea deal left Pridgeon on probation for three years after paying a fine and tasked with completing an anger management program.
Muskogee Mayor Marlon Coleman issued a “Time of Prayer” proclamation on Wednesday following the mass shooting.
“They were great kids. They were smart [and] full of happiness [and] energy. They were, they just loved life,” Raven Anderson said. “Honestly, it would just be great if everyone just continued to pray.”
