An woman identified as Brandy McCaslin killed her three young children and then herself inside their home as law enforcement officials from multiple agencies waited outside in what they considered an “armed and barricaded” situation Thursday evening.
Brandy McCaslin, 39, had been having a ‘supervised visit’ with her youngest son Billy Jacobson, 10 months, when a police officer saw fireworks outside of her address in Verdigris, Oklahoma.
Authorities confirmed that the lone officer went to investigate and called for back-up when they found McCaslin barricaded inside the home, armed with a weapon.
She also shot dead her 6-year-old son Bryce and 11-year-old daughter Noe in the tragedy on Thursday night.
When officers gained access to the house, they found McCaslin and her three children dead, though her motive for the triple murder is unclear.
Billy’s father has claimed on social media that Brandy attempted to ‘commit suicide’ in January and ‘tried to change his son’s name’ because she was ‘mad at me because I wasn’t coming back to her’.
A fundraiser has received $215 of a $10,000 goal to pay for funeral costs for Billy, which claims McCaslin had her son during a ‘supervised visit’.
A memorial has been set up in front of the property for the three children, as neighbors pay tribute to the three children as ‘happy and normal kids’.
Blake Forsman told 2News that he would see McCaslin waiting for her children at the bus stop and fixed her fence so their dogs wouldn’t get to his garden.
He added: ‘They looked like normal kids. They would get off the bus, run inside, ride and bike, just normal kids.’
Another neighbor, Bill Salwaechter, said: ‘I think it was around 3 p.m., and police officers were here in massive numbers.
‘Those are the guys I really feel sorry for since they have to go through that.
‘The pitiful part is those kids had nothing to do with it. Now they’re gone. Those kids were the future of America.’