2 dead in Lancaster murder-suicide, police say

A Lancaster man fatally shot his stepson before turning the gun on himself early Monday, police say.

Authorities say Barack Shabezz, 48, and 24-year-old T.J. Price Jr., 24, died in the shootings.

Officers were called to a home on the 400 block of Connor Street about 4:40 a.m. Monday, according to Capt. Scott Grant, a spokesman for the Lancaster Police Department. They found a man in the carport area of the home who turned out to be a witness.

After securing that man, officers tried unsuccessfully to make contact with anyone inside, Grant said. Police entered and found a gunshot victim, Price, in a bedroom.

“As they prepared to go into the next bedroom area, the other suspect took his own life,” Grant said.

Investigators learned that Shabezz was Price’s stepfather and are still trying to determine the motive.

“We’re still investigating,” Grant said. “It looks like an extension of an argument or a physical altercation they had earlier.”

It wasn’t clear Monday afternoon who called 911, but Grant said there were others in the home “at least for part of” the altercation. Authorities aren’t yet releasing the type of gun used or who owned it.

Grant said Price’s death was the city’s first homicide for 2016.

Family members who described Price as an “always happy and good-hearted person” told The Herald’s news partner, WSOC-TV, they were all together Sunday night shooting pool and that Shabezz was acting “strangely.”

This story was originally published March 14, 2016 at 5:59 PM with the headline "2 dead in Lancaster murder-suicide, police say."