Domestic incident leaves two dead, 1 injured

A father and his 10-year-old son were killed and the boy's mother critically wounded early Friday in what police believe was a murder-suicide in the city's Juniata Park section.

Police Chief Inspector Scott Small said it appeared that 48-year-old Jake Harkins Sr. shot his wife, Jessica, and son, Jake Jr., before turning a revolver on himself inside the rowhouse on the 3800 block of I Street. The revolver was found by his side, Small added.

Although shot twice in the back of the head, the 41-year-old mother reportedly was able to speak to detectives at Temple University Hospital.

Police said a 14-year-old daughter locked herself in her room and called police when a violent argument erupted between her parents. She was uninjured.

Small told reporters at the scene that police were called to the home about 12:45 a.m. for a report of a man with a gun. When officers arrived, they heard gunfire and found the woman wounded on the second-floor landing, Small said. - Staff reports