A Pennsylvania man who killed his mother and then fired more than 100 rounds at police as her body lay in a yard during a standoff, was also hoping to kill responding officers.
Police in Bethlehem engaged in an eight-hour standoff with Justin Kephart, 36, before he killed himself. He had a long rap sheet and was not permitted to own firearms. Police believe he obtained the gun from his father- who killed himself a few days after his son’s rampage.
‘It was his intent to take out other bodies, and they would be wearing blue uniforms,’ Bethlehem Township police Sgt. Daryl LaPointe said Tuesday, according to the Morning Call.
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Justin Kephart (pictured left) shot and killed his mother before spending eight hours engaged in a standoff with police at his grandmother’s home in Bethlehem, PA (right)
Kephart has a lengthy rap sheet that included and assault and disorderly conduct
State police on Tuesday identified Marylouise Meixell-Moyer as the woman shot 11 times in Bethlehem Township by Kephart.
Kephart began firing at police after an officer responded to a call about the woman’s body on Friday, officials said. A bullet whizzed by an officer’s head as he peeked from behind a parked car as he tried to figure out where the shots were coming from.
Police called in an armored police vehicle to the quiet suburb about 55 miles (90 kilometers) north of Philadelphia as authorities locked down the area. But Kephart did not relent, shooting continuously at police from inside the house.
Officials don’t know what caused the rampage but said Kephart had some ‘ongoing issues’ with his mother and called his father to tell him that he’d killed her, Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli said.
‘It’s hard to get in the mind of someone like this,’ Morganelli said, adding that the scene was like a ‘war zone.’
Police found Kephart with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, officials said.
Surrounding his body were two semi-automatic rifles, a shotgun and dozens of spent rounds.
Kephart had pevious run-ins with the law. He had been arrested for disorderly conduct in Allentown in 2002.
He was also charged with simple assault, harassment and driving under suspension April 30, 2006, in Lehigh Township, Northampton County.
Authorities said because of the criminal record Kephart had, he should have been prevented him from obtaining a gun but said he likely got the weapons from his father.
Kephart’s father, Dale C. Kephart, killed himself on Christmas Day, a coroner’s office in a neighboring county said.