My hometown went on lockdown today

after police received a 911 call from a nine-year-old reporting a robbery at a pawn shop and found three adults--the child's parents, co-owners of the business, and a customer shot dead. Also inside was the boy's sibling, whose age has been reported between eighteen and 20 months. The children apparently hid, and were unharmed. The shooter is still at large, although the lockdown of schools, including Centre College, has expired. Danville residents were warned of the danger through reverse 911 calls this morning shortly after the discovery. The ATF is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the murderer. (I originally linked to that story by LEX18, but the video automatically ran an advertisement when the page was loaded and I didn't want to have that happening, as I find it very annoying for videos to autoplay.)

Victims identified in triple homicide at Danville pawn shop

UPDATE: Three Dead In Pawn Shop Shooting; No Suspects In Custody

Danville Police Searching For Suspect Who Killed Three In Pawn Shop Robbery

Danville, Kentucky is a small town of about 16,000 people. According to Wikipedia, 'in 2001, Danville received a Great American Main Street Award from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. In 2011, Money placed Danville as the fourth-best place to retire in the United States. Danville has recently been twice chosen to host U.S. Vice-Presidential debates, in 2000 and in 2012.' Although I wasn't raised there, I was born in Danville, started elementary school in nearby Junction City, and finished high school at Danville High. My family has been in the county for generations. It's a nice town with a goodly amount of history for the area, an excellent college, and an annual brass band festival. Murders do happen occasionally, but this was shocking. I am so sorry to hear that this little boy and girl are now without parents because of someone's needless violence, and to have witnessed what they did was horrible. They are in my thoughts and prayers, along with the families of all the victims. Police are looking for a white man in his 40s to 50s, in a green camouflage jacket, and in some reports with a pot belly or heavyset. The Danville police can be reached at: (859) 238-1220. I so hope they catch the person who did this soon.