MOUNT HEALTHY — A 6-year-old girl was killed Sunday in an apparent murder-suicide, Mount Healthy police said. The preliminary investigation indicates she was murdered by her father, who then took his own life.
Police were originally dispatched to an apartment in the 1800 block of Lakenoll Drive for reports of a dispute involving a custody exchange.
When officers arrived on the scene and entered the apartment, they heard a gunshot coming from a second-floor bedroom. When police tried to get in, they found the door barricaded, then heard more gunshots. Police called SWAT, who secured the area.
According to investigators, SWAT attempted to communicate with the barricaded individual but when this failed they made entry into the bedroom where they discovered two people deceased, both suffering from gunshot wounds.
Iyla Johnson, 6, and her father, 40-year-old Eric Johnson, were identified as those deceased. Police said Johnson was a convicted felon who was prohibited from possessing a firearm.
Neighbors at the Lake of Woods complex said Johnson did not live there, but his parents do. They said the area is usually quiet and they never expected it to be the focus of a police investigation.
"Yesterday I thought it was Beirut around here because I've never seen so many cops," Andrew Dawson said.
Dawson said he saw Johnson's mother outside during the standoff.
"She was really upset," Dawson said. "I was letting her know that God is in control, stay prayerful and she was ... she talked to him right before any of this stuff went down with SWAT and she was really upset about that."
Police said they believe the first gunshot they heard when they arrived was Johnson shooting the child. They are awaiting the coroner's report for an exact cause of death.
A GoFundMe page has been created for Ilya Johnson's funeral expenses.
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