A man shot to death his ex-wife and her boyfriend in front of more than 200 children and their parents at a youth baseball park, then shot himself. He died of his injuries today.
The shootings erupted Tuesday in a parking lot of Ozark's Fuqua ballpark, about 75 miles south of Montgomery, as children and parents were gathering for evening games.
''We're very fortunate with the direction the shots were fired that a stray bullet did not go up in the stands or onto the field,'' Police Chief Tony Spivey said.
Slain were Diana Smith, 32, and James Edward McQuinn II, 35. Ricky Gerald Todd Smith, 35, died at a hospital today, authorities said.
The shootings stemmed from a custody dispute, Spivey said. It wasn't clear how many children the couple had or if they witnessed the shooting.
Spivey said at least 200 people witnessed the shooting.
''A large number of them are just in total shock and total disbelief,'' Spivey said. ''And very obviously, we have a lot of traumatized children and parents.''
The suspect used a 12-gauge shotgun to fire 10 shots at the victims, WSFA-TV reported. When the shotgun jammed, he pulled out a .22-caliber pistol and shot his ex-wife before shooting himself, witnesses said.
