Gunman Who Failed to Pay Child Support Kills 4 Workers, Himself

A gunman with a history of failing to make child support payments killed four workers in a county office Thursday, then told deputies he had accomplished his goal and took his own life, authorities said.

John T. Miller, 50, of North Ridgeville, Ohio, had a record of arrests in Schuyler County, N.Y., for non-payment of child support dating from 1970. It was unclear how much he owed for the child.

The killings took place in the county Department of Social Services’ Support Collection Unit.

Miller reportedly had been in the office Wednesday and talked to one of the victims. Police said they did not know if there had been a confrontation.

After the morning shootings, Miller was confronted by two law enforcement officers, Sheriff Michael Maloney said.

Miller, armed with a 9-millimeter pistol, spoke briefly with the deputies. “Basically, he said he killed everyone that he’d come to kill,” Maloney said.

During a brief standoff, Miller pointed the gun at his head and said he was going to kill himself, said Deputy A. J. Foote, one of the officers who confronted Miller.

When the deputies offered to get him help, Miller said that no one could help him and that he did not want to go back to jail. He died from a single wound to the head.