GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — A woman who killed her son, then shot her ex-boyfriend and four other people before killing herself was bitter over an affair with the married man, authorities said Monday.
The gunwoman, Mary Ann Holder, left behind two notes taking responsibility for the shootings Sunday morning and apologizing for the pain she caused, Guilford County Sheriff BJ Barnes said.
Investigators said the notes indicate Holder was angry about how her relationship with 40-year-old Randall Lamb came to an end after starting nearly four years ago. He was in stable condition on Monday.
Holder filed restraining orders against Lamb and his wife, saying they stalked and harassed her and that Lamb constantly drove past her house. Lamb's wife filed a restraining order against Holder, saying she would constantly call and text their cell phones and that Holder also sent nude pictures of herself to her boyfriend's wife.
Lamb's wife also planned to file an alienation of affection claim, which in North Carolina, allows someone who is cheated on to sue the person their spouse had an affair with.
"This is probably one of the worst situations I've seen in my over 30 years in law enforcement," Barnes said.
What the note didn't explain was why Holder decided to shoot five people under the age of 18 in the head along with the man she had an affair with.
"We may never know exactly what her thoughts were and why," Barnes said.
The shootings in three different locations south of Greensboro left Holder's 17-year-old son dead. Her 14-year-old son, 17-year-old nephew, 8-year-old niece and the older son's 15-year-old girlfriend were all in critical condition Monday morning.
"We've got death. We've got drama. We've got a situation basically no one could ever imagine," Barnes said.
The tragedy began to unfold shortly before 9 a.m. Sunday when Holder met Lamb in a parking lot. They spoke briefly before Holder shot him in the shoulder, investigators said.
Lamb called his wife and told her what happened, prompting deputies to begin looking for Holder. Officers were stationed outside her home, but a deputy spotted her car driving down the street about an hour later. The deputy said he saw a puff of smoke in the car and found Holder dead and her 14-year-old son, Zachary Smith, shot in the head, Barnes said.
The officers then went into Holder's home and found Holder's son, 17-year-old Robert Dylan Smith, dead. Smith's girlfriend, Makayla Woods was injured along with Holder's niece, Hannaleigh Suttles and her nephew, Richard Suttles.
Holder used Woods' cell phone after shooting Lamb to arrange to pick up her younger son at a friend's house where he had spent the night, the sheriff said.
Authorities said Monday they were still trying to determine when the victims in Holder's home were shot and whether it happened before or after she met with Lamb. They were also trying to determine exactly when she wrote the notes.