Felon kills 4 in WV; Moms Demand Action calls for more background checks (VIDEO)

The man believed to be responsible for the fatal shooting of four people in West Virginia was found dead Monday night with what appears to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, according to media reports. While the tragic incident shows how laws designed to protect people don’t always work that way, Moms Demand Action responded to the tragedy by pushing for greater gun legislation.

Jody Lee Hunt, 39, was believed to be a disgruntled ex-boyfriend who took his failed relationship frustrations out on his former girlfriend and three men, including his own cousin. While details are still slightly vague, authorities did confirm to local media that the acts, which started Monday morning, were not random and the victims did appear to be specifically targeted by Hunt.

Doug Brady, 45, who runs a towing company, died at a local hospital after being shot by the gunman.

“He’s always been jealous of Doug. I just never dreamed he hated Doug that much,” Brady’s wife, Cathy, told reporters of Hunt.

Hunt also shot and killed his own cousin, Jody Taylor, 43.

According to Taylor’s nephew, John Bolyard, Hunt drove up and confronted Taylor outside of his home before shooting him.

“Shot him point-blank,” Bolyard said. “And when he hit the ground, he shot him a couple more times.”

Authorities also discovered the bodies of Sharon Kay Berkshire, 39, Hunt’s ex-girlfriend and Michael David Frum, 28, in a house in Morgantown.

Although the exact motives aren’t known at this time, eery Facebook posts by Hunt indicate he was more than upset over the failed relationship with Berkshire.

Monday morning Hunt expressed frustration by writing, “I poured out my heart to her only to be manipulated as to what I could give her.”

Hunt went on to say, “I’m deeply hurt by events that lead up to this day! Life is short. It’s not all games. Don’t play a game with one’s heart.”

Records indicate that Berkshire filed a domestic violence case against Hunt last month.

In a statement released Monday, Moms Demand Action and Everytown for Gun Safety claimed that “more than half of mass shootings involve domestic violence – and that 38 percent fewer women are shot to death by intimate partners in states that require background checks for all handgun sales.”

However, Tonia Thomas, team coordinator for the West Virginia Coalition Against Domestic Violence, told local media that this incident likely wasn’t the first and with the majority of domestic violence cases, the warning signs are present long before it turns lethal.

“I think as West Virginians we can do a better job of taking better care of each other and holding every citizen accountable for what they do,” she said.

Thomas also added that victims who have contact with a domestic violence program “are less likely to die.”

But Moms Demand Action took the opportunity to urge others to call on their local legislators to create better gun laws to protect victims.

“We know that background checks save lives, and it’s long past time for our elected leaders to take action to protect West Virginian – and American – families from the pain of losing a loved one to gun violence,” the statement read.

The group also blames loopholes in current gun laws for allowing Hunt to obtain a gun in the first place. However, Hunt is a convicted felon – charged with the use of a firearm in an abduction in 1999 – and was already prohibited from buying or possessing guns to begin with.

Emma Riley Sutton, who has counseled with victims of domestic violence for over 15 years, told Guns.com that creating more gun laws is not the answer.

“A woman has the right to protect herself and limiting her ability to do so is not the least bit helpful,” Sutton said. “When criminals want guns, they get them. That can’t and won’t be stopped. This case proves that.”

Sutton also believes the laws need to be stricter against domestic abusers.

It’s unknown at this time where Hunt obtained the gun used in the shootings.

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Source: http://www.guns.com/2014/12/02/convicted-felon-kills-4-in-wv-moms-demand-action-calls-for-background-checks-to-save-lives-video/