Oklahoma police say 10-year-old boy awoke to find his parents and 3 brothers shot to death

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A 10-year-old boy awoke to find his parents and three brothers dead in their southwest Oklahoma City home, all fatally shot by his father, police said Tuesday.

On Monday morning, “(the boy) woke up and discovered what had happened,” said Sgt. Gary Knight, describing the scene as “carnage.”

“Make no mistake about it, what happened in that residence was nothing short of a massacre,” Knight said,

Police believe Jonathan Candy, 42, killed his wife, 39-year-old Lindsay Candy, and sons 18-year-old Dylan Candy, 14-year-old Ethan Candy and 12-year-old Lucas Candy, Knight said. He said Jonathan Candy then turned the gun on himself.

Knight said investigators believe the shooting began after an argument between the parents late Sunday night or early Monday morning.

“At some point he (Jonathan Candy) armed himself with a gun, he shot her multiple times, killing her,” Knight said. “At that point he systematically went through the home shooting and killing the children.”

Knight said it is not known why the fourth child was spared or a motive for the shootings. He said police had no previous contact with the family, had not previously been called to their home and that there was no history of domestic violence in the family.

Knight said the 10-year-old was placed in the custody of relatives and was physically unharmed.

Knight said the boy told investigators that he slept through the sound of the gunfire, and that there is no reason to doubt him.

“He called 911 and said he had just woke up and found the bodies,” Knight said. “The door (to his room) was closed and there was a box fan running” that would also muffle the sound.

“There is no indication he didn't sleep through it,” Knight said.

Oklahoma City police investigate after 5 were found dead in a home in Oklahoma City, on Monday, April 22, 2024. Oklahoma City police called to a home on the city's southwest side Monday discovered the bodies of five people, including at least two children, authorities said. (Nathan J. Fish/The Oklahoman via AP)

Oklahoma police say 10-year-old boy awoke to find his parents and 3 brothers shot to death

Oklahoma police say 10-year-old boy awoke to find his parents and 3 brothers shot to death

Police investigate after people were found dead in a home in Oklahoma City on Monday, April 22, 2024. Oklahoma City police called to a home on the city's southwest side Monday discovered the bodies of five people, including at least two children, authorities said. (Nathan J. Fish/The Oklahoman via AP)

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy on Friday set a July primary and a September general election to fill the Newark-based U.S. House seat that opened after Rep. Donald Payne Jr.'s recent death.

Murphy signed a writ of election, required under state law. The July 16 primary will be about a month after the state's regularly scheduled June 4 contest, followed by the general election Sept. 18.

The special election will determine who serves out the remainder of Payne's term, which ends Jan. 3, 2025, while the regular election process held in parallel will be for who fills the seat after that.

It's not yet clear who will be running in the heavily Democratic and majority-Black district, which is unlikely to flip as registered Republicans are outnumbered by more than 6 to 1.

Payne had already filed paperwork to run for reelection this year and is set to appear uncontested on the ballot for the regular June 4 primary. Should he win the nomination, Democratic Party committee members in his district could choose a replacement to run in the November general election.

Payne, who died April 24 of a heart attack connected to complications from diabetes, served in the House since 2012.

He succeeded his father, Donald Milford Payne, who held the seat for two decades and also died while he was a sitting congressman.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy speaks during the Celebration of the Life of Donald M. Payne, Jr. at Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark, NJ on Thursday, May 2, 2024. (Ed Murray/NJ Advance Media via AP)

FILE - Donald Payne Jr. stands during the funeral of his father, New Jersey Congressman Donald Payne, in Newark, N.J., March 13, 2012. Payne Jr. of New Jersey died Wednesday, April 24, 2024, officials said, after suffering a heart attack earlier this month that had left him hospitalized. He was 65. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)

FILE - Rep. Donald Payne Jr., D-N.J., poses for a ceremonial photo in the Rayburn Room of the Capitol after the new 113th Congress convened, Jan. 3, 2013, in Washington. Payne Jr. of New Jersey died Wednesday, April 24, 2024, officials said, after suffering a heart attack earlier this month that had left him hospitalized. He was 65. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)