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FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.couriersun.com JANUARY 29, 2015 • THE COURIER SUN 3 PHOTO COURTESY OF JEFF LIAO Father massacres his own family, killing three and wounding one before taking his own life Photo courtesy of NYPD Jonathon Walker was found dead after shooting four people in his Springfield Gardens home, leaving three dead, according to police. BY THE QUEENS COURIER STAFF editorial@queenscourier.com @QueensCourier A Springfield Gardens man inexplicably massacred his own family early on the morning of Jan. 24 when he methodically shot his two daughters, their mother and their grandmother, leaving three dead and a 12-year-old girl fighting for her life, police said. The gunman, Jonathon Walker, 34, fled the blood-splattered home he shared with his family in his GMC Arcadia, prompting an NYPD manhunt that ended five hours later when police discovered him dead behind the wheel of his vehicle, where he took his own life. Officers found the four victims inside their home on 148th Avenue near 231st Street at about 5:40 a.m. All of them had been shot in the head, cops said. They were called to the scene by Walker’s 12-year-old daughter, who phoned 911 despite having a gunshot wound to her head, according to published reports. Viola Warren, 62, her daughter, Shantai Hale, 31, and Hale’s daughter, 7-year-old Kayla Walker, were pronounced dead at the scene. The 12-year-old girl, Christina Walker, also Hale’s daughter, was taken to Long Island Jewish Medical Center in critical condition. She is now in a medically induced coma, reports said. Police say that Walker, the girls’ father and Hale’s common-law husband, shot the four and then escaped their home in his car. Sources told the New York Post that Walker believed his longtime partner had been unfaithful and shot his daughters because he didn’t want them to end up in foster care after the attack. Walker was found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head about five hours later inside his vehicle in a wooded area just south of the Belt Parkway near the Lefferts Boulevard exit, cops said. A .45-caliber gun was recovered. NEW NATURAL GAS LINES COMING TO CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN QUEENS BY SALVATORE LICATA slicata@queenscourier.com @Sal_Licata1 A $100 million project to make natural gas a more reliable source of energy in Queens is underway beginning this week, and the project will include the construction of six miles of new gas mains. National Grid is responsible for the construction and said the Queens Gas Reliability Project is aimed at improving safety and reliability and supporting energy needs of the local community. “As we look to the future and increased demand for natural gas, the Queens Reliability Project is a perfect example of National Grid’s commitment to modernizing our network and helping customers take control of their energy use,” said Mike Ruiz, director of community and customer management at National Grid. “By strengthening the network we can support increased customer demand and give customers a choice to take advantage of new technologies and renewable energy sources.” National Grid and its contracting company, Network Infrastructure, will install more than six miles of new gas mains through central Queens from Rockaway Boulevard to just north of the Long Island Expressway, which they say will provide enough natural gas to meet the growing energy needs of customers. Following the installation, crews will be working in neighborhoods along the route to upgrade the natural gas service in the local communities. All of the work is expected to be finished by the spring of 2016. The new project is part of National Grid’s $1.3 billion effort to modernize the natural gas system in New York State over the next two years. They will be focusing on replacing aging mains to enhance the safety and integrity of their system, and installing new mains and other facilities to accommodate their growing number of customers. National Grid said the Queens project will ensure a reliable supply of environmentally friendly natural gas to support New York City’s energy efficiency and THE COURIER/Photo by Salvatore Licata sustainability goals. Crews will be setting short-term goals to minimize disruption as much as possible but, as some of the work will be going on in the streets, National Grid warned motorists and pedestrians to be cautious around work sites.


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