10-Year-Old Boy Calls 9-1-1 After Waking Up to 'Massacre' of Entire Family

24/04/2024 16:07

A 10-year-old boy in Oklahoma City is the sole survivor of a murder-suicide -- and is the one who called 9-1-1 after waking up to find his entire family dead.

The horrific incident went down at some point before 9:30 on Monday morning, which is when the child called police to report "everyone inside the house appeared to be dead," Sgt. Gary Knight explained in a press conference on Tuesday.

When police responded to the scene, they found five people "beyond saving" inside the home and determined the boy's father, 42-year-old Jonathon Candy (pictured), 42, "became involved in an altercation" with his wife Lindsay, 39, before arming himself with a gun and shooting her "multiple times, killing her."

"At that point, he systematically went through the home shooting and killing their children," said Knight, who said all three of the deceased kids belonged to the couple. Per a press release from the Oklahoma City Police Department, the victims included Lindsay and sons Dylan, 18, Ethan, 14, and Lucas, 12.

"There was one child, the one who called 9-1-1, who was found unharmed. We don't know why he was left unharmed," Knight continued, saying that's a question nobody will ever likely know the answer to, as the boy's father took his own life after the killings.

"It's unclear what made him want to go through the home, killing the children. But make no mistake about it, what happened in that residence was nothing short of a massacre," said Knight, who added the children were "hunted down and killed."

Per Knight, the surviving child "apparently had been asleep" during his father's alleged rampage and "woke up and discovered what had happened." Knight told ABC News that the door to the boy's bedroom was closed at the time and he had a box fan running inside the room. "There is no indication he didn't sleep through it," he added.

Police confirmed two bodies -- those of Lindsay and one of the children -- were found downstairs, while the other two were upstairs. At least one of the children was shot in their bed. Knight added the couple had no history with police or any calls regarding domestic abuse.

"It was a horrible thing for everybody," said Knight, "it was certainly most horrible for the young man who woke up and found the carnage."

The boy is now with relatives.

The Candy family, meanwhile, issued a statement to FOX News.

"Our entire family has been left shattered and confused with so many questions we won't ever have answers to," the family said. "Jonathon was the one whose jokes and goofy attitude kept everyone smiling.

"Aside from these events, his children and wife were his entire life. I simply can't fathom what went on but please, hug your family tight. It's going to be a very long healing process for everyone affected."