A father allegedly shot dead his wife, their two kids, and his young niece and nephew an hour after one of the children’s birthday party.
Brandon Allan Kendrick, 32, faces five counts of capital murder after the mass shooting at his pastor grandfather Allan’s property in rural Alabama.
His wife Kelse Kendrick, 24, was found dead alongside their son Kaleb, 6, and Kynli, 2, and their cousins Colton, 8, and Haley Daniels, 6, on Thursday night.
Kelse and her side of the family were celebrating Colton’s ninth birthday, but she returned about 7pm after Kendrick demanded she come home.
Kynli Kendrick, 2, Kaleb Kendrick, 6, Colton Daniels, 8, and Haley Daniels, 6, were found shot to death in rural Alabama on Thursday night
Brandon Allan Kendrick, 32, allegedly dead shot his wife Kelse Kendrick, 24, (left) along with their daughter Kynli and son Kaleb, and the children’s two cousins
All five were shot in the head and found dead at the scene, other than Haley, who was still breathing and rushed to hospital, but did not survive.
Kendrick allegedly gunned down his family at the garage apartment they lived in on Allan Kendrick’s property in West Blocton, about 40 miles south of Birmingham.
Allan is the pastor of Oasis of Praise Church in nearby Bessemer, and called 911 about 8.18pm on Thursday after finding the bodies.
Kelse’s uncle Eli Morrow and his wife Brittany said the party was held at family patriarch Bill Morrow’s house ahead of Colton’s birthday on Tuesday.
Kendrick was at not at the party, and his schizophrenic episodes had worsened over the previous two weeks.
‘All of the children were supposed to spend the night at [Bill’s] home,’ Brittany told DailyMail.com.
‘Brandon repeatedly begged and pleaded with her to come home and she gave in… within an hour they were all shot in the head.’
Kendrick faces five counts of capital murder after the mass shooting
Haley and Kynli together at a family Fourth of July gathering two weeks before they were killed
Brittany explained that Colton and Haley’s mother Jessica Morrow, 35, was having major surgery the next morning, so there was no option but to send them with Kelse.
‘We live 45 minutes away. I wish to God they had asked us to take them for the night,’ she said.
‘What we are struggling with the most, is that it was a last-minute decision to take them over there, it was never in the plan.’
Kelse’s car was broken down so Jessica dropped all five of them off at home on Green Tree Drive about 7pm.
Kelse is Eli’s niece by his older sister, who has since died, and Bill’s grandfather, and the Morrow and Kendrick families have been intertwined for generations.
Eli had custody of Colton and Haley from January 2021 until last November, when a judge allowed them to return to Jessica.
‘Jessica finally got her kids back, and then this happens,’ Brittany said.
‘I am devastated and destroyed… Eli and I had full custody of them for almost three years and they were my babies.’
Kendrick allegedly shot Kelse and the children less than an hour after they returned home from Colton’s birthday party about 7pm after he demanded she come home
The shooting took place at his pastor grandfather property in rural Alabama (Kaleb pictured with his sister and family dog on his first day of Pre-K)
Police rushed to the scene and arrested Kendrick after discovering the bodies, Bibb County Sheriff Jody Wade said.
‘It’s absolutely horrible. It’s unimaginable what the family is going through, what the friends of the family are experiencing, what the community is feeling right now,’ he said.
‘It was just a horrific scene that even seasoned officers told me it is the worst thing they’ve ever seen.
‘As officers are going, they are saying there are more children that have been shot.’
Wade said Kendrick was yet to tell police why he did it, but ‘I don’t know what motive he could give us that would justify what he did anyway’.
Kendrick was booked into the Bibb County Jail about 3.30am and denied bail.
He is charged with four counts of capital murder of a child under 14, and one count of capital murder in the killing of two or more people in one act.
Kelse’s uncle Eli Morrow (top right) had custody of Colton and Haley (front left and right) from January 2021 until last November, with the help of his wife Brittany (top right)
Kendrick and Kelse lived with their children in a garage apartment on Kendrick’s grandfather Allan’s rural property. Allan is a pastor at Oasis of Praise Church (pictured preaching there)
Oasis of Praise Church held a prayer vigil with more than 300 members on Friday night, saying proceeds from the collection plate would go to the families.
‘Pastor wanted us to relay to all those asking if they can do anything: “Tell everyone asking if they can do something that they can be at church Sunday at 10am”,’ the church wrote on its Facebook page.
‘The church has committed to helping the families with expenses. If you would like to be a part of this effort, please give your donation to the church’s benevolence fund.
‘All donated money will be directed towards the needs of the families involved.’
Eli Morrow also started a GoFundMe page to help pay for the funerals, with his wife explaining the family didn’t want the funeral at Allan’s church.
‘None of the family feel comfortable having it there, he’s offered to have them cremated and have a memorial at his church, but the family has declined,’ Brittany said.
‘But we started the fundraiser because we’re trying to figure out how we’re going to pay for five funerals.’