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Unfortunate loss for anyone in the gun community-
Gun-toting soccer mom, husband found shot dead
LEBANON, Pa. (AP) — A soccer mom who gained national attention when she openly carried a loaded gun to her 5-year-old daughter's game was shot dead Wednesday along with her husband in what appeared to be a murder-suicide, police said.
Meleanie Hain and Scott Hain were pronounced dead Wednesday night at their home in Lebanon, about 80 miles west of Philadelphia.
The couple's three children were home at the time but weren't hurt, police said. They were taken to stay with friends and relatives.
According to the Lebanon Daily News, several neighbors said they witnessed the children, ages 2, 6 and 10, run from the house shouting, "Daddy shot Mommy!" shortly before 911 was called at 6:20 p.m.
Meleanie Hain, 31, and Scott Hain, 33, had been having marital problems for about a week, neighbor Mark Long said. Scott Hain had left the couple's home on Tuesday, and Meleanie Hain didn't know where he was, but he returned Wednesday, Long said.
Autopsies on the Hains were to be conducted Thursday, coroner Dr. Jeffrey Yocum said.
Meleanie Hain made headlines after she attended a children's soccer game in a park on Sept. 11, 2008, with a handgun in plain view holstered on her hip, upsetting other parents.
The county sheriff, Michael DeLeo, revoked her gun-carrying permit nine days later.
Hain successfully appealed the permit revocation, although the judge who restored the permit questioned her judgment and said she had "scared the devil" out of other people at the game.
Hain sued DeLeo in federal court, alleging that he violated her constitutional rights and prosecuted her maliciously when he took the permit away. She said that because of his actions her baby-sitting service had suffered, her children had been harassed and she had been ostracized by her neighbors in Lebanon, which has about 25,000 residents.
DeLeo said at Hain's appeal that he revoked her permit after fielding the parents' complaints. He said he based his decision on a state law that prohibits certain gun permits from being given to anyone whose character and reputation make him or her a danger to public safety.
After Hain sued DeLeo, the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, which says it tries to reform the gun industry through sensible regulations, offered to defend him for free.
"It is a case that calls out for common sense," Brady Center attorney Daniel Vice said then. "It's ridiculous to bring a gun to a child's soccer game."
A court hearing on Hain's $1 million lawsuit was postponed in May after an attorney in the case was involved in a traffic accident.
The Daily News reported that Meleanie Hain had operated a day-care center in her home. Her husband was a Berks County parole officer and a former prison guard.
Neighbor Brian Witmer told the newspaper he saw Scott Hain mowing the grass about 3:30 p.m. Wednesday.
"He was mowing his lawn, and the dog was outside," Witmer said. "There was nothing out of the ordinary. He didn't seem strange at all."
Debbie Mise, who lives three doors away from the Hain house, told the Daily News she felt something bad would eventually happen at the Hain residence.
"She just wasn't right," Mise said of Meleanie Hain. "You don't bring a gun to a kids' soccer game, and you don't wear a gun when you go shopping at Kohl's."
Contributing: Steve Marshall in McLean, Va.
Gun-toting soccer mom, husband found shot dead
LEBANON, Pa. (AP) — A soccer mom who gained national attention when she openly carried a loaded gun to her 5-year-old daughter's game was shot dead Wednesday along with her husband in what appeared to be a murder-suicide, police said.
Meleanie Hain and Scott Hain were pronounced dead Wednesday night at their home in Lebanon, about 80 miles west of Philadelphia.
The couple's three children were home at the time but weren't hurt, police said. They were taken to stay with friends and relatives.
According to the Lebanon Daily News, several neighbors said they witnessed the children, ages 2, 6 and 10, run from the house shouting, "Daddy shot Mommy!" shortly before 911 was called at 6:20 p.m.
Meleanie Hain, 31, and Scott Hain, 33, had been having marital problems for about a week, neighbor Mark Long said. Scott Hain had left the couple's home on Tuesday, and Meleanie Hain didn't know where he was, but he returned Wednesday, Long said.
Autopsies on the Hains were to be conducted Thursday, coroner Dr. Jeffrey Yocum said.
Meleanie Hain made headlines after she attended a children's soccer game in a park on Sept. 11, 2008, with a handgun in plain view holstered on her hip, upsetting other parents.
The county sheriff, Michael DeLeo, revoked her gun-carrying permit nine days later.
Hain successfully appealed the permit revocation, although the judge who restored the permit questioned her judgment and said she had "scared the devil" out of other people at the game.
Hain sued DeLeo in federal court, alleging that he violated her constitutional rights and prosecuted her maliciously when he took the permit away. She said that because of his actions her baby-sitting service had suffered, her children had been harassed and she had been ostracized by her neighbors in Lebanon, which has about 25,000 residents.
DeLeo said at Hain's appeal that he revoked her permit after fielding the parents' complaints. He said he based his decision on a state law that prohibits certain gun permits from being given to anyone whose character and reputation make him or her a danger to public safety.
After Hain sued DeLeo, the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, which says it tries to reform the gun industry through sensible regulations, offered to defend him for free.
"It is a case that calls out for common sense," Brady Center attorney Daniel Vice said then. "It's ridiculous to bring a gun to a child's soccer game."
A court hearing on Hain's $1 million lawsuit was postponed in May after an attorney in the case was involved in a traffic accident.
The Daily News reported that Meleanie Hain had operated a day-care center in her home. Her husband was a Berks County parole officer and a former prison guard.
Neighbor Brian Witmer told the newspaper he saw Scott Hain mowing the grass about 3:30 p.m. Wednesday.
"He was mowing his lawn, and the dog was outside," Witmer said. "There was nothing out of the ordinary. He didn't seem strange at all."
Debbie Mise, who lives three doors away from the Hain house, told the Daily News she felt something bad would eventually happen at the Hain residence.
"She just wasn't right," Mise said of Meleanie Hain. "You don't bring a gun to a kids' soccer game, and you don't wear a gun when you go shopping at Kohl's."
Contributing: Steve Marshall in McLean, Va.
