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Quinton Laster: Oklahoma Man Allegedly Shot, Beheaded Grandparents At Daycare Center

By Rahul Srinivas
Published on: 07:50 PST, Feb 10, 2016

The Oklahoma City Police Department have arrested a 20-year-old man identified as Quinton Laster in connection with the alleged murder of his grandparents at a daycare center in Oklahoma. According to a CNN report, Quinton Laster allegedly shot and then decapitated his grandparents inside a home that also functioned as a daycare center. Officials also found three small children huddled inside the center along with the beheaded bodies of his grandparents. The victims of the ghastly crime have been identified as 59-year-old Sharon Reed and her husband, 78-year-old James Reed.

According to a statement issued by the Oklahoma City Police Department, officers from the department was on a visit to the home on Tuesday at around 2 p.m., local time, after a neighbor called them up and asked them to check on the welfare of the residents living inside the home. It is unclear what prompted the neighbor to make the call, and the identity of the person who made the call has not been revealed either. When officers reached the venue, they found Quinton Laster outside the home and detained him just before they entered the home. They then went inside the home — only to discover the dead bodies of Sharon Reed and James Reed lying in a decapitated state. They also ascertained that both of them were also shot.

An Oklahoma City Police Department officer who was a part of the team that entered the home later said, “Both victims had been shot and decapitated.”

Later, they also established that the two victims were in fact Quinton Laster’s own grandparents. Other family members of the deceased couple confirmed to police officials that the home was being used as a daycare center.

Officers also discovered three small children in a garage that was attached to the residence. All the kids were identified and safely sent back to their respective families after confirming that they were not related in any way to the victims. The children were uninjured and safe, Sergeant Ashley Peters with Oklahoma City Police confirms.

“The children were unharmed, removed from the scene, and later united with their families,” according to police.

As the news of the murder spread, a large group of people gathered outside the crime scene. Many of them were seen grieving over the death of the two elderly couple. A relative of the dead couple said, “He didn’t deserve it, and she didn’t deserve it. I just don’t know why either one of them are dead.”

Ronda Brown, a neighbor of the victim, made a comment on a News 9 report about the incident. She writes, “I’m very sorry this has happen, they were very good people. My sympathy goes out to the family. We have been neighbors all our lives, we ate at the same tables and played on the same grounds. My heart goes out to all of you. Be strong in the Lord.”

People reacted strongly to the news of the murder on social media.

The circumstances that led to the killing of the two individuals is still being investigated by officials from the Oklahoma City Police Department. They have confirmed that Quinton Laster is being held on two counts of first-degree murder.

[Photo by Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office/AP Images]

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