Killer Of Four Found Dead

"HAMILTON TOWNSHIP, NJ - A 3-year-old boy has been orphaned after his estranged father allegedly shot his family and then committed suicide.

"Authorities say Sharif Whitlock went on a shooting rampage inside his girlfriend Tracy Coleman's home on the 2700 block of Evergreen Court at the Woodlands Condominiums in Hamilton Township, N.J. Sunday night.

"Whitlock, 36, showed up at Coleman's home around 7:30 p.m. and began shooting, police say. Coleman, 44, her 15-year-old son Reggie and 39-year-old brother Ronald were all killed.

"More than a dozen shotgun casings were found inside the condo.

"The couple's 3-year-old son was not harmed, but may have witnessed the massacre. Responding officers found him hiding under the bed, his dead mother lying just feet away, according to prosecutors.

"After the shooting, Whitlock immediately fled the scene. Neighbors told police they saw the man speed away from the home after hearing an argument and several gunshots.

"Police found his Dodge Charger in Winslow Township, N.J. at 3:15 a.m. Monday. They found Whitlock several hours later, hanging from a high-voltage electrical tower near the car. He committed suicide, says the Atlantic County medical examiner.

"Hours before the shooting, Coleman filed a domestic violence complaint against Whitlock, police say.

"Neighbors were shocked to hear what had happened.

"`They were very quiet, like most of the people on Evergreen Court here, everybody pretty much keeps to themselves,` John Lawless said."

From nbcphiladelphia.com...