Chad Doerman, 32, allegedly confessed to fatally shooting his three sons execution-style and hunting one down when he tried to flee into the woods, prosecutors say.
An Ohio man is facing murder charges after allegedly lining up his three young sons — ages 7, 4 and 3 — and shooting them execution-style, authorities said.
One of the boys tried to flee but Chad Doerman allegedly told police he “hunted him down” and shot him, authorities said.
On Thursday at about 4:15 p.m., a woman called 911 screaming that her “babies had been shot,” the Clermont County Sheriff’s Office said in a release.
Three minutes later, a driver in the area called 911 to report that a young girl was running down the road yelling that “her father was killing everyone,” the Sheriff’s Office said.
Deputies rushed to a home in the 1900 block of Laurel Lindale Rd. in Monroe Township and found Doerman, 32, sitting on the steps with a rifle sitting next to him, Fox 19 Now reports.
Stand up! Stand up!” a deputy yelled to him before pulling him off the steps and forcing him to the ground where he handcuffed him, according to bodycam footage obtained by Fox 19 Now.
With wails heard in the background, the deputy reportedly asked him what was going on and Doerman calmly replied, “Nothing.”
Shortly after, deputies found three children who had been shot, laying in the yard, unresponsive.
They attempted CPR but the children died at the scene, the Sheriff’s Office said.
The children’s mother, 34, who has not been publicly identified, was allegedly shot in the hand while trying to protect her boys from the gunshots, prosecutors said on Friday at Doerman’s arraignment.
She was taken to a local hospital for non-life-threatening injuries. Deputies met with her in the hospital to tell her that her sons had been killed. Doerman was arrested without incident and taken to the sheriff’s office for questioning.
He has since been charged with three counts of aggravated murder. He was taken to the Clermont County Jail where he is being held on $20 million bond.
Doerman allegedly confessed to killing the boys, David Gast, head of the Clermont County Prosecutor’s Office Criminal Division said in court Friday at Doerman’s arraignment, according to video shown on Cincinnati.com.
He allegedly planned the shootings for several months, according to court documents, CBS Austin reports.
“This did not happen on a whim,” Gast said in court.
“The trauma that this man has inflicted on his family, the community, law enforcement, first responders, and all of the rest of us who have any idea of what is going on here is unspeakable,” Gast said, WLWT 5 reports.
During the arraignment, Doerman stood near in the court flanked by deputies and wearing a protective vest, crying as he listened to Gast.
Speaking to the judge, Gast said “there has been full admission in this case” and that authorities are still investigating.
“But the evil horror of what we know is impossible to process,” he said, the outlet reports. "In an act of just incomprehensible cruelty, the father lined up his three young boys and he executed them in his own home with a rifle.”
“In an act of desperation, the mother at some point grabbed the gun that the father was wielding to attempt to protect them,” he added.
One of boys was able to break away and flee into a field near the house, Gast said.
Allegedly by Doerman’s own admission, Gast said, “The father hunted that boy down, drug him back to the property and executed him in front of witnesses.”
In asking for the $20 million bond, Gast told the judge that these boys looked to their father “for protection, love, guidance” from “the man they trust more than any person on earth.”
Police said there were no signs of forced entry into the home, and they are not looking for any other suspects.
“He was their world. Their guardian,” Gast said. “And he executed them in cold blood.”
Doerman’s father, Keith Doerman, 59, told the New York Post that his son “just snapped."
“There was something going on in his life that he couldn’t handle no more," Keith said, the outlet reports. "I can’t talk to him, they aren’t letting me talk to him so I don’t have any answers. He probably hid a lot of stuff from me.”
On June 11, Doerman posted pictures on social media of him with his three sons smiling and giving the thumbs up.
“Nice crew there,” one person posted.
Gloria Doerman wrote, “Grandma loves this picture.”
A GoFundMe has been started to help defray funeral expenses.
"My sister lost her three amazing babies yesterday," GoFundMe organizer Rachel Brown wrote. "Nothing will make this better, it will never be okay. But please if you can find it in your heart to help relieve the financial burden of this tragedy, please donate. No one should have to go through this."
Doerman's attorney did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.
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