Saturday, April 14, 2012

Brooklyn, OH: Investigation continues into deadly restaurant shooting

BROOKLYN, OH (WOIO) -

Brooklyn Police continue to try and piece together events that led up to a deadly restaurant shooting earlier this week.

Thursday evening around 9 p.m., a Strongsville family was out celebrating their daughter's 10th birthday when the child's father snapped and went into a shooting rampage at the Cracker Barrel on Tiedeman Road.

Kevin Allen, 51, and his wife, Katherina Allen, 42, were having marital issues. Thursday evening, Katherina told Kevin she was leaving him, a conversation that would send Kevin into a monstrous rage.

Kevin left the restaurant and began circling the property in his Jeep Cherokee. Katherina called police and alerted them her husband was losing it. Officers arrived on scene and Kevin went back into restaurant armed with a shot gun.

Inside, Kevin fatally shot his wife in the head and torso near the checkout counter, then shot his daughter Kayla, 10, in the gift shop. Next, the crazed father reportedly went looking for his second daughter, Kerri, 10, who was found hiding in the bathroom. She was shot in the abdomen and died, it was her 10th birthday.

After the shooting, Kevin Allen went to exit the restaurant and was approached by officers. He was order to drop his weapon but ignored commands. Officers shot Allen multiple times in the trunk and extremities. He was pronounced dead on scene along with his wife Katherina and daughter Kerri.

Kayla was transported to MetroHealth Medical Center where she was listed in critical condition Sunday morning.

A welcome sign hanging on the family's Shurmer Drive home in Strongsville hid the couple's marital problems. Katherina and Kevin had gotten into a fight on Easter Sunday which prompted Katherina to take the children and leave. She was going to stay with a friend until further notice. In a Strongsville Police report, Katherina told police that Kevin threatened to take the kids if she tried to return home to get the rest of her belongings. She wanted it on record that she and her husband were having domestic issues.

Thursday evening was a chance to collectively celebrate their daughter Kerri's 10th birthday.

Neighbors described the Allen children as happy and normal, and were completely shocked by Thursday's tragic restaurant shooting.

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