Teen's 911 Call Amid Shooting: 'Oh, My God. Blood Everywhere'

Sheriff: NC man Larry Don Ray shot and killed 6 family members, then himself
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 17, 2020 7:37 AM CDT
Sheriff Says NC Man Killed 6 Relatives
Stock photo.   (Getty Images/MattGush)

A frantic 911 call from a trapped teen led cops in North Carolina to a gruesome scene with seven members of a family dead—and it appears one shot and killed the other six before fatally shooting himself. WNCN reports that deputies responded to a "shots fired" call around 5:30pm Sunday in Chatham County, and when they got to the Moncure location, a family member told authorities his uncle shot his wife dead. That man has been identified as 66-year-old Larry Don Ray, and his wife as Jeanie Ray, 67. Officials say Ray then walked to a nearby home and shot relatives Ellis and Lisa Mansfield—73 and 54, respectively—who were visiting with yet another family member, 93-year-old Helen Mason, also killed. From there, authorities say, Ray killed two more relatives: Nicole Sanderford, 39, and husband John Paul Sanderford, 41.

It's not clear where the Sanderfords were killed. Per the News & Observer, a 911 call was released Monday from a teen trapped in a bedroom at one of the residences where the shootings took place, with the young man begging for help to be sent immediately. "There's a guy in my house shooting right now," the teen says in the call. "I'm in my closet. ... I'm not coming out." When the teen sensed the gunman had left the house, he ventured out of his room, the operator still on the line, then said: "Oh, my god. Blood everywhere." The Chatham County Sheriff's Office notes the area is a quiet one, where violence isn't often seen, per the Courier-Tribune. "There are no words to describe the sense of loss we feel as a community in the wake of this terrible event," Sheriff Mike Roberson says. No motive is known, and an investigation is ongoing. (More murder-suicide stories.)

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