Two Days of Fear Ends As Shooting Spree Suspect Found Dead

Brad Stone’s ex-wife told people she was afraid for her life as a tumultuous battle over custody of the couple’s two children escalated.

But friends and neighbors could never dream it would go this far.

Stone killed his ex-wife, Nicole Hill Stone, and five of her family members during a premeditated spree of violence that began early Monday morning and ended with his self-inflicted stab wound, according to authorities.

Stone was found dead Tuesday afternoon about a half mile from his Pennsburg home in Montgomery County. He died from self-inflicted cut wounds in the “center part of his body,” Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman said during a press conference Tuesday. A knife was found near his body, she confirmed.

Authorities say it was an extreme case of domestic violence: the couple was in the midst of a vicious custody battle over their two children, Ferman said. Neighbors and friends were aware of the dispute, which had recently escalated, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

“Just last week, he had made an effort in court to secure emergency custody and that was denied,” Ferman said. She noted Stone was a former Marine, but could not confirm he was being treated for PTSD, as some reports had indicated.

“There’s no valid excuse for snuffing out these lives,” Ferman said. “We’re really numb from what we’ve had to go through.”

Related stories:

• Suspect In Montgomery County Shooting Spree Died Of Self-Inflicted Cut Wounds
• Who is Bradley Stone?
• Possible Sighting of Montgomery County Shooting Suspect Reported in Doylestown
• UPDATE: 6 Dead In Montgomery County Shooting Spree; Suspect Identified

The horror began early Monday morning at a home in Souderton, where Ferman said Stone shot and killed his ex-wife’s sister, Patricia Flick, and her husband, Aaron. Nina, the Flick’s 14-year-old daughter, died from various cuts, Ferman said. Stone also attacked their son, Anthony, who is recovering from “significant” stab wounds, Ferman said.

Stone then targeted his ex-wife’s mother, Joanne Hill, who died of cutting wounds, and grandmother, Patricia Hill, who died of gunshot wounds, Ferman said. Both women lived in Lansdale.

His ex-wife was his last target, authorities said. He shot her at her Lower Salford Township apartment and took their two children, who are now safe in protective custody, Ferman confirmed during the press conference.

“Clearly we are looking at a premeditated killing, a planned killing, an intentional killing,” Ferman said.

As authorities investigated the three crime scenes, a two-county search for Stone began, with SWAT teams raiding his home and searching the small town of Pennsburg for any trace of him.

In what is now believed to be a false alarm, authorities took the search to Bucks County after a man there reported being carjacked Monday night in Doylestown by a suspect who matched Stone’s description.

The search gripped the normally quiet communities in Bucks and Montgomery counties. Schools ordered lockdowns and students in communities miles away were kept indoors as a precaution. Schools in the Upper Perkiomen district, which includes Pennsburg, were closed Tuesday as the manhunt continued.

Classes will resume as usual on Wednesday and counselors will be available for students, district officials announced.

“With the announcement of the confirmed death of the dangerous individual, schools will re-open in Upper Perkiomen tomorrow at regular times. Counselors will be available to students throughout the day for any concerns they may be experiencing,” Upper Perkiomen School District said on its website.

The two day ordeal left many rattled and in disbelief.

“We live here in a very peaceful community, we don’t typically deal with events like this. To have an event like this really shatter the peace and tranquility of the community is very disturbing,” Ferman said.

She noted the Souderton-Telford Rotary plans to establish a fund for the couple’s two children, who were not injured during the spree.

Some of Stone’s colleagues indicated his behavior, while not violent, was sometimes odd. A marine who served under Stone’s command in the Marines told NBC10 the suspected killer was “quite frankly a little odd.“ The marine, who asked his name not be used, told the news channel Stone was a “little out there.”

Stone, who served as a Marine from 2002 to 2011, was deployed once to Iraq. He left with the rank of sergeant, a Marine spokesperson told 6ABC. The Morning Call reported he sought treatment for PTSD after being honorably discharged in 2011.

Stone and Hill married in 2004 and filed for divorce in 2009, according to the Associated Press. Stone remarried last year and has an infant son, according to 6ABC. His current wife and son were not injured in Tuesday’s rampage.

One neighbor called him a “great guy” before he left for Iraq. But when he came back he “was a completely different man,” the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.