A 66-year-old Long Beach man drove more than 700 miles to Ogden, Utah, where he fatally shot his brother and set fire to his home before being killed himself in a shootout with police, officials said.
On the evening of April 27, Jeffrey Roberts, a heavy-set man with a white goatee, arrived at the home of his brother, retired forestry professor Scott Roberts, in a brown van, authorities said.
Jeffrey Roberts was armed with a 9 mm handgun and a total of 23 fully loaded handgun magazines that police photographed later at the scene, police said.
Scott Roberts and his wife, Jodi, were eating dinner alone when Jeffrey Roberts rang their doorbell, according to a statement released by the Weber County attorney’s office.
In video captured by a doorbell camera on the front of the home, Jeffrey calmly tells his brother that he had come by to see their mother. After Scott says that their mother is not there, Jeffrey pulls out a gun and starts shooting as he walks into the home.
A few minutes later, Jeffrey exited the house and then quickly returned carrying a 12-gauge shotgun and a brown duffle bag, breathing heavily, the video shows.
Police were alerted to the incident by a 911 call from a neighbor who heard shots coming from the home. Jeffrey Roberts began shooting at officers as soon as they arrived, according to the Weber County attorney’s office.
A total of five officers were on scene and three returned fire, officials said. Jeffrey Roberts was killed in the shootout from a head wound.
In video from one of the police officer’s body cameras, thick black smoke can be seen pouring out of the house — the result of a fire that Jeffrey started using road flares, authorities said.
Police officials later pronounced Scott Roberts dead from gunshot wounds. Scott’s wife was also shot and is receiving medical treatment for her injuries.
“My mom is alive because my dad fought my uncle and told my mom to run,” Kelsey Turner, Scott Roberts’ daughter, wrote on a GoFundMe page she set up for her mother. “Knowing that my dad died a hero is bringing us a small bit of comfort.”
Turner, who described Jeffrey Roberts as her father’s “estranged brother,” said the GoFundMe Page was to help her mother buy necessities, since she was left with no clothes or personal items because of the fire. “We will be able to recover some things from the house but have been told most of the house was destroyed,” she wrote.
Dozens of Scott Roberts’ former students, friends and colleagues shared condolences on the page and described him as a man of wisdom, warmth and humor.
“Scott, your knowledge and wisdom were remarkable but your sense of humor was limitless. You will be missed by so many,” wrote one well wisher.
An investigation by the Weber County Force Investigation Team is ongoing.
This story originally appeared on LA Times
