A mother and her three young children, aged 9 months, 6, and 11 years, were found dead following a three-hour standoff with law enforcement at her home in Oklahoma.
The mother, 39-year-old Brandy McCaslin, reportedly took her life and those of her children.
The incident unfolded during a supervised visitation at McCaslin’s Verdigris residence on Thursday, July 20, as per the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation. Police were summoned to the property following reports of what were assumed to be fireworks being set off in a garage. Upon their arrival, they found McCaslin barricaded and armed inside the house with her children.
Negotiations with the troubled mother proved fruitless, resulting in a prolonged standoff. Upon gaining entry to the house, officers discovered that McCaslin had fatally shot her children and herself.
The standoff was prompted around 4 p.m. when a Roman candle was seen by a Verdigris police officer, fired from a broken garage window. Further investigation revealed a woman and two children locked in the garage, using the fireworks as a distress signal.
The locked up woman had arrived at the residence for a supervised visit with her two children and brought one of McCaslin’s children with her. McCaslin, however, threatened her with a gun, seized her own child, and locked the woman in the garage with her two children. They escaped once police arrived.
Verdigris Police Chief Jack Shackelford stated to media outlets that the McCaslin residence had been visited multiple times by officers in relation to child welfare and domestic violence incidents. McCaslin had a known history of substance abuse and mental health challenges.
Friends of McCaslin, while shocked by the tragic event, also acknowledged her struggles. They reminisced about a recent Facebook photo where McCaslin seemed happy with her infant son.
Billy Jacobson, the infant’s father, recalled his child as “perfect and sweet,” sharing cherished memories. In the wake of this heartbreaking incident, a GoFundMe campaign has been set up to support the Jacobson family. Jacobson noted that McCaslin had been distraught over their breakup and had attempted suicide earlier in January.
