Father shoots his daughter and son, then kills himself

OXFORD, Mass. (WHDH) -- A father shot and killed his 7-year-old daughter and shot his 9-year-old son before taking his own life. The boy is fighting for his life.

Police got a 911 call around 5 p.m. about gunshots fired in a suburban Oxford neighborhood.

“It's a horrible scene, it's a horrible situation 03:03 we have a 7-year-old girl dead, a 9-year-old boy wounded. It doesn't get any worse than this,” said Joseph Early Jr. of the Worcester County District Attorney’s office.

Colleen Benway, the mother of the two children, was initially handcuffed by police. She was soon released and escorted to the hospital to see her injured son. Neighbors said the woman wasn't home when the ambulance took her husband and daughter away.

“I’ve been here 43 years, never seen so many police cars in my life,” said one neighbor Angelo Cascione.

Friends and neighbors watched as officers taped off the two-apartment home on Main Street. Friends said the family of four lived upstairs and shared the house with relatives.

Neighbors said they didn't hear anything unusual, they only knew there was problem when they saw all the activity outside.

“I never seen anything wrong I don't know what the heck's going on. I used to be over there all the time I don't understand,” said Amanda Ahearn, a friend of the family.

Family and friends were surprised by the tragedy.

“He seemed fine when I was younger. He was a nice guy. Always nice to me. He didn't seem like the type of person to do something like this,” said Ahearn.

“I know it's serious because I've been here 43 years and nothing like this has ever happened,” said Cascione.

Officials said the man had separated from his wife about a month ago. His gun license had expired in 1999.