Mo. man accused of fatally shooting his parents and turning the gun on himself

HAZELWOOD, Mo. (TCD) -- A 31-year-old man remains in the hospital after allegedly fatally shooting his parents and turning the gun on himself.

According to a news release from the Hazelwood Police Department, on April 11 at approximately 7:39 p.m., officers responded to the 7000 block of Woody Court to a report of a "disturbance with possible shots fired." Upon their arrival, officers reportedly found a "male subject who was discharging a weapon" in their direction.

Police identified the suspect as Joseph Moore.

Hazelwood Police officers returned fire, which resulted in Moore shooting himself and "causing a self-inflicted injury." He was transported to a hospital in serious condition.

Inside the home, police found Moore’s parents, James Moore, 63, and Norma Moore, 70, deceased from gunshot wounds.

The next day, April 12, the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office obtained arrest warrants against Moore for two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of armed criminal action. His bond was set at $500,000.

Moore, who reportedly lived with his parents, remains at the hospital under police guard in stable condition and will be transferred to St. Louis County Justice Services upon his release from the hospital.

Hazelwood Police Capt. Tim Burger told KTVI-TV, "This is a family matter and probably going to be some issues of mental health possibly, but we are not certain yet. This is a domestic matter. They all lived together in the residence, and the exact reasoning for the incident we don’t know for sure yet, but we’ve had previous calls to that residence for mental health type of calls."

MORE:

• Homicide — Updated — Hazelwood Police Department
• Man shot, killed parents inside Hazelwood home — KTVI