MUSKOGEE, Okla. A 25-year-old Oklahoma man was charged with murder in the murder of his brother and five young children on Wednesday, police said.
Muskogee’s Jarron Deajon Pridgeon is charged with six counts of first-degree murder, shooting with intent to kill and possession of a firearm during probation, court documents show.
Muskogee police said they did not yet know why Pridgeon shot Javarion Lee, 24, or the children, the oldest of whom is 9 years old. The children’s mother, Brittany Anderson, was also injured in the shooting early Tuesday and was admitted to hospital in Tulsa.
Police identified the children killed as Jalaiya Pridgeon, 1; Jaidus Pridgeon, 3; Harmony Anderson, 5; Neveah Pridgeon, 6; and Que’dynce Anderson, 9.
The court and jail records do not list a lawyer who can speak on behalf of Pridgeon.
Pridgeon and the victims lived in the house where the shooting took place, Muskogee police said. Neighbors told the Muskogee Phoenix that they had only recently moved into the home, but that the children regularly played outside.
Raven Anderson, who is an aunt of the children, told Tulsa TV station KOTV that Pridgeon was the father of three of the children killed.
“They were wonderful children, smart, full of happiness and energy. They were, they just loved life, ”she said. “It will honestly only be wonderful if everyone just keeps praying.”
According to court records, Pridgeon received a suspended sentence in 2019 after being charged with two counts of allegedly throwing two large pieces of cement at a woman and hitting her in the upper body. A judge in that case ordered an observation and evaluation of mental health, but the results are sealed. Pridgeon’s attorney Brian Watts did not immediately return a message for comment.
Muskogee is a city of just under 40,000 people about 45 miles southeast of Tulsa.