Kevin Milazzo Corsicana Texas murder suicide: Man kills 4 family members then self at 2 different locations. No known motive as authorities investigate.
A Texas man is reported to have shot dead four people – including the four-year-old son of his ex-girlfriend along with injuring three others before fatally turning the gun on himself in an apparent murder suicide over the weekend.
Kevin James Milazzo, 41, according to a news release on the Corsicana Police Department’s Facebook page was identified as the shooter, with police saying the man took his own life as they rushed to the residence where the mass shooting was taking place.
Identified as the gunman’s victims were Milazzo’s stepfather, William Mimms, 68, and mother, Connie Mimms, 61, dead. While searching the home, police found two additional gunshot victims. The victims, described as ‘family members’ were transported by air ambulance to a Dallas area trauma center. The victims’ current condition wasn’t immediately known.
The shooting preceded another shooting minutes earlier, with the Navarro County Sheriff’s Department in a Facebook post saying they had earlier responded to a home in Frost – about 20 miles west of Corsicana – to find Milazzo’s son Joshua Milazzo, 21, fatally shot. The body of Hunter Freeman, four, his ex girlfriend’s toddler son, was also discovered.
A woman identified as the boy’s mother, Pattie Freeman, 41, was discovered with multiple gunshot wounds and was rushed to a Dallas-area trauma center where she remained in ‘stable’ condition. The identity of the slain four year old boy’s father wasn’t immediately known.
‘You don’t expect it from a small town like this’
Following the shootings, police tracked down the gunman’s car using his GPS and arranged for the monitoring service to have its engine shut off.
But as officers approached the vehicle, they discovered the shooter inside a Corsicana residence with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. The wanted man with a long criminal history died at a local hospital (see more below on prior arrests).
The first shooting was reported just after midnight local time, before police were called to a second location in Frost – around 20 miles west of Corsicana.
One neighbor told Local12: ‘You don’t expect it from a small town like this.’
Pastors, Debbie and Lonnie Keele with the Community Chapel Church in Corsicana said Connie and Bill Mimms were avid church goers and that they ‘loved’ their family.
‘Bill and Connie, they loved their children, they loved their grandchildren,’ Debbie Keele told Fox4News.
‘These people did not deserve this. This family did not deserve this,’ Debbie added.
Birth against all odds
In 2014, Connie Mimms in a Facebook post wrote, ’33 years ago I gave birth to my only son Kevin. It’s been a ride to remember. Some up some down but I wouldn’t give u up for nothin.’
The pastor couple said the Mimms had been with their church group for over 25 years and considered them a part of their family.
A family friend described slain four year old Hunter as a miracle child; his mom Pattie was told she could never have children but nevertheless became pregnant at age 38 after improving her health. Her boy was born premature the following year weighing just three pounds, eight ounces.
‘Although he had a fight ahead of him to survive, this little boy surprised everyone and grew to be a healthy, beautiful, child,’ Jerri Whitener wrote on Facebook.
‘Hunter was also born with a cleft lip and would need surgery in the future. Pattie knew that she wanted to give Hunter a good life and him not suffer the hardships she had to endure throughout her life, so she decided to do everything she could to give him that chance.’
The single mom became a certified medical assistant and landed a job in the field before the shooting.
Gunman long criminal history arrests
‘Unfortunately, Hunter was only on this earth for 1,511 days,’ Whitener said. ‘On February 5, around midnight his light went out.
‘Pattie struggled to make ends meet, but she did it, especially after becoming a mother. Now, she is fighting for her life. Due to her injuries, she will need years of medical care.’
Marissa Milazzo called upon friends to share memories of the other victims she came to grips with the slayings.
‘I’m asking that anyone who knew my grandparents or brothers and they impacted your life in any way you feel, please send me your stories,’ she posted on Facebook. ‘Send me your pictures. They were some of the sweetest and most caring people and I know they impacted many many lives and I would like to hear everyone’s story and see all of the pictures.’
According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, Kevin Milazzo had a lengthy arrest record including the following arrests over a 23 year time span, including: simple assault, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, driving with an invalid license, unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, driving intoxicated along with resisting arrest.
No known motive for the shootings was immediately clear. The weekend episode continued to remain under investigation.
