Kids call 911 to report stepdad shot their mom, himself in apparent murder-suicide in Vancouver
CLARK COUNTY, Wash. (KPTV) - Two kids called 911 to report their stepfather shot their mother and then himself in Vancouver Monday night, according to the Clark County Sheriff’s Office.
Just before 11 p.m., deputies responded to the 911 call in the area of Northeast 42nd Avenue and Northeast 56th Street. Deputies arrived to the scene and found the two girls, ages 12 and 16, uninjured outside the home.
The sheriff’s office says deputies went into the home and found a man, identified as 45-year-old James Jordan, dead with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. A woman, identified as 46-year-old Erica Jordan, was found with a gunshot wound and taken to an area hospital where she later died.
Deputies investigating learned both James and Erica were estranged but married and a protection order prohibiting James from 1000 feet of the home was in place.
James had most recently been arrested after violating the protection order on April 4.
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CCSO says current evidence points to James arriving just minutes before the 911 call, forcing entry into the home before killing Erica and then himself.
FOX 12 spoke with a neighbor who said seeing something like this happen in his own backyard was something he never imagined happening.
“I was like, oh wow, that doesn’t hardly ever, ever happen out here,” said Tom Pace. “This general area is usually pretty quiet. We don’t generally get any activity out here in this area at all. Occasionally you might get some activity but it’s pretty rare. Other than that, it’s a quiet area.”
The sheriff’s office says the teens are safe with other family members.
The Major Crimes Unit has responded for the ongoing investigation. The sheriff’s office says the incident is being investigated as a murder-suicide.
No other details have been released by detectives at this time.
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