Teen kills family and friends in farmhouse massacre

AN 18-year-old who was about to graduate from high school is believed to have fatally shot his grandparents, mother and two family friends before killing himself, Ohio authorities said yesterday.

Logan County Sheriff Michael Henry said he was unsure if authorities would ever find out why Scott Moody committed the shootings in the town of Bellefontaine early Sunday morning.

The rampage at neighbouring farmhouses came hours after a party to celebrate the pending graduation. Moody’s younger sister was wounded and was in critical condition yesterday.

Sheriff Michael Henry identified the victims as Moody’s grandparents Sharyl Shafer, aged 66, and Gary Shafer, 67, who were found dead in one farmhouse; and Moody’s mother, Sheri Shafer, 37, and two friends, Megan Karus, 19, and Paige Harshbarger, 14. They were found dead in the other home along with the wounded survivor, 15-year-old Stacy Moody, and the body of Moody himself.

The victims were shot with a .22-calibre rifle, Henry said, adding that Stacy Moody called a friend on her mobile phone and the friend then called authorities Sunday morning.

Scott Moody and Karus were to have graduated on Sunday afternoon from Riverside High School in nearby De Graff, the sheriff’s office said.

The school held commencement as scheduled, and school officials announced the shootings to the crowd after.

The two farmhouses are about a quarter of a mile apart along a two-lane state route north-west of Columbus, and the same family owns both, authorities said. Fields where corn and soybeans are grown surround the white-panelled, two-storey homes, each of which was marked by a “no trespassing” sign.

Detectives were interviewing friends and family members of the victims. “I’ve being doing this for 35 years and I’ve never seen anything like this,” Logan County Sheriff’s Lt Chuck Stout said.