Man kills ex-wife's boyfriend, three children before killing himself in Ponder home

The woman, who suffered at least one gunshot wound, was still alive Wednesday afternoon at Medical City Denton, said Capt. Orlando Hinojosa, a spokesman for the Sheriff’s Office. He did not know the woman’s condition as of late Wednesday afternoon.

None of the victims has been identified.

Hospital spokeswoman Dana Benton Long said she could not release any information about the incident or the woman’s condition, citing the ongoing investigation.

Firefighters initially responded to the home at 8:28 a.m. to treat someone with a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to a Ponder Fire Department news release. The Sheriff’s Office received the call at the same time as a burglary in progress, Hinojosa said.

Hinojosa could not confirm the type of gun used in the incident.

One nearby resident, Mary Jean Dennis, said she saw a man with three children walking toward the house during her morning walk before the shooting on Wednesday morning.

She walked past the home about eight minutes before police were called, she said. She said the children appeared to be 3 to 6 years old.

“I walked past all three of the kids, and they said, ‘Good morning,’ and just looked at me,” Dennis said, choking back tears. “Had I known the man was going to go in there and do that, I would have stopped. And I’m thinking, ‘Why did I not know? Why didn’t I sense that something was going to happen?’”

Dennis added that she didn’t hear any gunshots in the area. She also didn’t know whether the man could have been the woman’s ex-husband or boyfriend.

Several neighbors said they often saw young children playing in the street or in the yard in front of the house. One woman, Jill Potter, who lives two houses down from the shooting location, said she noticed people frequently coming and going. But she didn’t know who lived in the home, she said.

Most neighbors were in shock after hearing the news.

“We’ve lived in Ponder now 38 years, been [in this house] for 16 years, and we’ve never had anything like this,” said resident Bruce Dotterer. “Not around our neighborhood.”

Denton Central Appraisal District records list Lorrena and Walter Lucas as the owners of the house where the shooting occurred, but they could not be reached for comment. It was unknown if the people inside the house were renting it.

Ponder ISD Superintendent Bruce Yeager said in a statement that no students or district staff were listed as living at the home, according to The Dallas Morning News.

Two dogs were removed from the home Wednesday as police collected evidence.

The Ponder Police Department is leading the investigation with the help of the Denton County Sheriff’s Office, Hinojosa said.