Four kids ran for their lives and another child was found hiding after an estranged husband opened fire at a mobile home before turning the weapon on himself, police said.
Gaston County Police were called to a trailer in Chapel Grove, North Carolina, shortly after 5 a.m. on Tuesday, the department said in a news release. They found James Baxter Baucom, 57, dead in the front yard and 51-year-old Lisa Cole King fatally shot inside the residence.
Investigators say her estranged husband Benjamin Elliot King, 52, of Fort Mill, South Carolina, killed the pair. He later died at hospital from a single gunshot wound.
"There were five children present at the residence when the shooting began but [they] fled during the incident and were uninjured," the statement said. "One child was located inside the residence hiding when officers entered and was safely removed."
The kids ranged in age from four until 13 years of age.