Apparent murder-suicide in Brooklyn Center

BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. (AP) - An apparent murder-suicide early on Christmas morning has left a family "just devastated," a victim advocate said Tuesday.

Police in Brooklyn Center said they found two people dead in a home about 1:45 a.m. Tuesday. They aren't releasing the victims' identities or many details, except to say the public is not in danger.

Michael Jones, director of the Minnesota Parent-Child Advocacy Center in Minneapolis, told the Star Tribune the incident involved a married couple, Andrew Lee Wells and Jacqueline Wells.

Jones, who was speaking for the mother and uncle of Andrew Lee Wells, said he died of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound. He said Jacqueline Wells also died of a gunshot wound.

"This is the greatest tragedy that can happen to anybody's family," Jones said. "It doesn't get any more personal than this."

Jones said he didn't know what led to the incident. Jacqueline Wells apparently had four teenage children from a previous relationship but it didn't appear any were hurt, Jones said. They weren't home during the incident but two came home to find the bodies, he told the newspaper.

A neighbor, Stephanie High, said the entire neighborhood was stunned.

"They were wonderful people," she said. "They always waved 'hi' and 'bye,' and sat out on their front steps."

Speaking on behalf of Andrew Wells' relatives, Jones said, "They are just devastated by the events that took place. They want the community's prayers and support for the children, and that's the focus of their concern at this point. They can recover from this, but it's going to be a long and painful deal."

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)