RYAN PATRICK BELLAR and ZACK JAMES BELLAR

BIRTH: 2002

DEATH: May 3, 2009

Ryan Patrick Bellar ~ Age 7

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BIRTH: December 4, 2008

DEATH: May 3, 2009

Zack James Bellar ~ Age 5 Months

Ryan, 7, and Zack, 5 months, were shot and killed along with their mother, Wendy, 31. Their father shot and killed them and then turned the gun on himself. Their older brother, Nathan, witnessed the entire thing. He was unharmed.

While the motive behind the killings is unclear, authorities believe Troy’s wife, Wendy, may have been attempting to leave the home with two of the couple’s children, when he went ballistic. He shot and killed his wife and two of their children: 5-month-old Zack James Bellar, and 7-year-old Ryan Patrick Bellar. He pursued his older son, Nathan, through the garage, firing several rounds at the child. Nathan was lucky enough to escape his dad and make it safely to a neighbor’s home. He has been placed with family members.

Wendy Bellar was carrying 5-month-old Zack James Bellar out the front door in a car seat when Nathan Bellar saw his father follow them with a 7.62 mm rifle. She intended to take the infant and her 7-year-old son, Ryan Patrick Bellar, to her in-laws for the night but was shot down on the screen porch.

Deputies arrived at a horrific scene: Wendy Bellar and her two young sons dead from gunshot wounds in their screened-in porch and their father lifeless in the front yard. A preliminary investigation indicates that more than 10 rounds were fired in all.