A man struck a family with his vehicle as they walked along a road near Montana’s Glacier National Park on Sunday and then fired a shotgun at them, killing a man and his 18-month-old daughter, authorities said.
The shooter seriously wounded two other family members; one of them fatally wounded him after he attacked her with a knife, the Glacier County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
The victims, who were fatally shot, have been identified as David Siau, 39, and his daughter, Mackenzie, of Syracuse, New York. Authorities said Mr. Siau and his family were visiting the town of East Glacier Park, in the Montana Rockies, when the attack occurred.
Two other family members, Christy Siau, 40, and Christina Siau, 30, of East Glacier Park, were critically injured in the attack, authorities said. A GoFundMe page identified Christy Siau as Mr. Siau’s wife and Christina Siau as his sister.
The Glacier County Sheriff’s Office identified the shooter as Derrick Amos Madden, 37, of Goldsby, Okla. The sheriff’s office did not give a motive for the attack, but said Mr. Madden had previously been in a relationship with Christina Siau and that he had unspecified “mental health problems”.
Shortly before 9pm local time on Sunday, Mr Madden “intentionally drove his vehicle” into the family and after crashing it into a tree, got out armed with a shotgun and “started shooting at the same victims he had just hit or attempted to hit with his vehicle,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
Mr. Madden fatally shot Mr. Siau and then proceeded to shoot the rest of the family as they fled, according to the sheriff’s office. He wounded Mr. Siau’s wife, Christy Siau, and killed their 18-month-old daughter, McKenzie, who was being held by her mother, authorities said.
Mr. Madden attacked Christina Siau with a knife, the sheriff’s office said. “During this attack, Christina fought for her life and, despite sustaining critical injuries,” authorities added, “fatally wounded Madden,” who died at the scene.
Two other children were there but managed to escape and were not injured, the sheriff’s office said.
Authorities said the two women and the 18-month-old child were taken to a hospital in Browning, Montana, which is about 13 miles northeast of East Glacier Park. The child was pronounced dead at the hospital and the two women were taken elsewhere to receive more intensive care for “critical injuries,” they said.
The attack was “isolated from this incident,” the sheriff’s office added, “with a clear connection between the victims and Madden.” The investigation is ongoing, the sheriff’s office said.
On Wednesday night, the FBI released a video statement from John Siau, David’s father and Mackenzie’s grandfather. He recounted what he said he had told his other children.
“Grieve, be sad, but don’t harbor anger about what happened,” he said, “because what we saw was actually the result of someone harboring anger in their own life and letting it fester and he has allowed it to grow and develop into something very horrible and unspeakable. He went on to quote passages from the Lord’s Prayer and said, “Our purpose is to forgive.”
Mr. Madden was formerly a member of the Oklahoma National Guard but left around 2013 and had no further contact with the organization, said Lt. Col. Jeff Legler, a spokesman for the Guard.
Col. Legler said Mr. Madden was a chemical operations specialist and had been trained in how to identify dangerous chemicals and render some of them inert. Col. Legler said he did not know Mr. Madden personally.
Public records show Mr. Madden has lived in Oklahoma for several years.
A friend of Christina Siau, Haley Driver, described her as “calm and cool and collected and such a joy to be around.” Ms. Driver said Ms. Siau, who is a physician assistant, plans to return to upstate New York after nearly four years in Montana, having recently accepted a job in Ithaca, N.Y.
“She is such a tough person,” Ms Driver said in a Facebook message. “I admire her so much for who she is and the value she brings to our lives.”
The Siaus were active members of the Baptist church community in upstate New York.
“We grieve with the Siau and Brownell families and will be with them during this time of unimaginable grief,” Justin Baratta, who works at Missio Church in Syracuse, New York, said in an email. “It sure is a broken world.”
Bethany Siau, David and Christina’s sister, set up a GoFundMe page to help with the family’s medical expenses.
“The number of people already reaching out and offering help is incredible,” she wrote on the fundraising site. “We appreciate you all.”
Alex Traub contributed reporting.
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