Man Shot Dead After Allegedly Seen Trying To Drown Babies In Tub
An Oklahoma man was shot dead by a neighbor while allegedly trying to drown his 3-month-old twins in a bathtub on Friday, authorities said.
A 12-year-old girl, who was able to escape the home in Ada, alerted the neighbor to the horrific scene inside, prompting him to enter with a handgun, News 9 reported.
The neighbor told police he saw 27-year-old Leland Foster holding the babies under water while threatening their mother with a knife. The neighbor, identified as Cash Freeman, responded by shooting Foster twice in his back, killing him.
The infants were taken to a hospital and released on Saturday, KXII reported.
“It’s awful because I’ve held the babies and like, I’ve played with them and I just gave them clothes yesterday,” neighbor Summer Pierce told KFOR News.
Freeman, speaking to KFOR off camera, said he was only trying to save the babies and expressed concern that he may be in trouble.
The district attorney’s office will ultimately determine whether charges are warranted.
In the meantime, Pierce is standing by her neighbor, saying he did the right thing.
“I think he did the right thing, because who knows what would happen?” she said. “Who knows what would have happened to the babies if he hadn’t intervened? They might not have made it.”
Foster had a history of violence, criminal records show.
In 2011 he was charged with arson and domestic violence by strangulation in the first degree after being accused of choking his ex-girlfriend and setting her clothes on fire inside an apartment.
He pleaded not contest in the case, the Washington Post reported.
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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
