SUN-TIMES MEDIA WIRE - A father shot and killed his two daughters and shot their mother in her leg before turning the gun on himself, St. Charles Police said on Sunday, ending two days of public speculation into what happened inside a fourth-floor condo just off the main drag of the far western suburb, the Chicago Sun-Times is reporting.
The revelation was accompanied by the release of dramatic, near simultaneous 911 calls made Friday evening by Randall Coffland, 48, and his wife, Anjum Coffland, 46, that laid bare the carnage.
“I just shot and killed my two kids and I shot my wife, and I’m going to kill myself now,” Randall Coffland told a dispatcher.
“What address are you at?” the dispatcher asked.
Coffland offered up his address before reiterating his intention.
“I’m going to kill myself now too. My two girls are dead, and I’m killing myself.”
“Sir, stay on the line with me. . . . Sir? Hello?” the dispatcher said to no response.
He can also be heard shouting, apparently to his wife, “I want you to live and suffer like I did.”
Another 911 dispatcher fielded a call from Anjum Coffland, who had been shot in her leg but survived the encounter.
“Come here now! Oh my God, my husband shot my kids!” Anjum said.
“My daughters are dead!” she screamed.
Police arrived at the home in the 400 block of South First Street and found Randall Coffland and his twin 16-year-old daughters, Brittany and Tiffany, dead, authorities said.
Each of them died of a single gunshot wound to the head, the Kane County coroner’s office confirmed on Monday. Randall Coffland’s wound was self-inflicted, authorities said.
St. Charles Deputy Police Chief David Kintz released the audio of the 911 calls at a Sunday afternoon news conference.
Kintz said he didn’t know what caused the shootings. Detectives had interviewed Anjum Coffland, who was still hospitalized Sunday, but Kintz said the investigation was ongoing and he was unable to provide a motive.
Two 9 mm handguns were found in the condo. One was found near Randall Coffland’s body; the other was in a closet. He had a firearm owner’s identification card, police said.
Randall Coffland worked as an IT manager at a Chicago law firm, according to his LinkedIn page. His wife previously worked in the Kendall County Recorder’s office but had been employed as an insurance claims adjuster since September 2015, according to her LinkedIn page.
Officers had been called to the home on one previous occasion, on Feb. 9, after a report of domestic trouble that did not involve physical abuse, Kintz said Sunday. He was unable to provide additional details.