South Dakotan Kills Wife, 2 Children, Self

A man shot and killed his estranged wife and two of their children Friday in their front yard, then fled with his 1-year-old son, shot and wounded the boy and killed himself, authorities said.

The first shootings occurred across the street from the elementary school where the oldest child attended kindergarten.

Carl Swanson, 30, had been talking with his estranged wife, Donna, 25, outside the family’s home when he fatally shot her and their two oldest children, Tabatha, 6, and James, 3, Edmunds County state’s attorney Michael Hogan said.

Swanson’s body and his wounded son, Joel, were found in his car about three miles south of Hosmer, about 230 miles northwest of Sioux Falls, a spokesman for the South Dakota Highway Patrol said. Joel was listed in critical condition in a Minneapolis hospital.