Buffalo man kills girlfriend, holds children hostage before turning gun on self

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Buffalo Police investigate at 355 Millicent Ave. this morning." target="_blank"> Buffalo Police investigate at 355 Millicent Ave. this morning. Harry Scull Jr. / Buffalo News Updated: 05/13/09 02:37 PM By Gene Warner News Staff Reporter A 29-year-old man apparently shot his 21-year-old girlfriend to death late Tuesday night and then held police at bay for four hours with three young children in the house, before he shot and critically wounded himself, Buffalo police say. Authorities and neighbors late this morning identified the dead woman as De'aira Wall, who would have turned 22 next week, and the boyfriend as Jesse L. Jones. The standoff, which occurred in the 300 block of Millicent Avenue, began just before 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, after neighbors heard shots and other loud noises coming from the house. The home is three blocks north of the Kensington Expressway, just west of Eggert Road. Northeast District police responded to the home and found that the man had barricaded himself inside, apparently with the three children — two between 4 and 6 years old, and the other an infant — in an upstairs bedroom with him. "Police say that during the standoff, the boyfriend continued to threaten police that he would harm them and the kids in the house," Buffalo police spokesman Michael J. DeGeorge said today. Shortly before 3:30 a.m., after an approximately four-hour standoff, police heard what appeared to be another shot inside the home. "They stormed the house and immediately rescued the two older kids, went upstairs and found the suspect and the infant in the same room," DeGeorge said. "He [the boyfriend] had suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the upper part of the body." Other sources said they believed the man had shot himself in the head. Police also found the young woman's body in the bathtub. "It appears that the boyfriend shot the girlfriend even before police got there," DeGeorge said. All three children were rescued by Buffalo SWAT and Hostage Management officers and taken to Women & Children's Hospital for evaluation. They now are under the care of Child Protection Services workers. The boyfriend was taken to Erie County Medical Center, where he was listed in critical condition at mid-morning. Neighbors today said they believe that the young woman was the mother of the three children and that her boyfriend moved in with them a few months ago. gwarner@buffnews.com