Four Killed on Reservation: Grandmother, Three Grandchildren Murdered on ND Indian Territory, Person of Interest Commits Suicide

Four innocent individuals, a grandmother and her three young grandchildren, were shot and murdered on an American Indian reservation territory in New Town, North Dakota on Sunday (Nov. 18). 64-year-old Martha Johnson and her three grandkids were gunned down at her home on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation while her husband was out hunting. One other grandchild managed to escape the bloodshed and promptly called 911. A man thought to be the person of interest committed suicide just hours later - law enforcement do not believe there is any more threat to the public.

According to Mountrail County Sheriff Ken Halvorson, Johnson and her three grandchildren - Benjamin Schuster (13), Julia Schuster (10), and Luke Schuster (6) - died of multiple gun wounds on Sunday. Another 12-year-old brother was in the home but managed to escape unhurt - he was the first to alert the police about the killings. The FBI prompted an investigation on Monday, because the federal government has jurisdiction over crimes in the Indian Country.

Just hours later on that Sunday afternoon, an unidentified man who police described as being in his mid-20s committed suicide with a knife in Parshall, a community just 20 miles away on the reservation. Halvorson insists that the unnamed man was the main person of interest in the family slayings - he committed suicide in front of a deputy and a highway patrolman when confronted. Johnson and her grandchildren were enrolled tribal members at Fort Berthold, but the murderous man who committed suicide was.

While an investigation is still underway, law enforcement believe that with the man's suicide, there is no more immediate threat to the public.

Murders are relatively rare in the area - the local school cancelled classes and the community planned to hold a nighttime prayer vigil on Monday.

The Three Affiliated Tribes chairman Tex Hall considered the slayings the "worst tragedy" he had ever witnessed on the reservation - "It's a terrible loss, especially when young kids are involved. It's a sad, sad day."

A teddy bear carrying a bouquet of red roses now sits on the white picket fence that surrounds the Johnsons' quiet, ranch-style home.

Thoughts and condolences go out to the tightknit community during this time of grievance.