Baldwinsville, N.Y. — A man who fatally shot his daughter before shooting himself in their Baldwinsville home Friday purchased the murder weapon in the early days of January.
Christopher A. Wood, 51, legally purchased a shotgun two weeks before he used it to shoot his daughter Ava Wood, 14, before shooting himself, said Tom Newton, a spokesperson for the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office.
The shotgun was purchased on either Jan. 4 or Jan. 5, Newton said.
Ava was found dead in her bed on Friday with a gunshot wound, deputies said. Christopher Wood was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot in another bedroom, deputies said. The shotgun was found near his body, Newton said.
In New York state, you do not need a permit or license to purchase a rifle or a shotgun --unless you live in New York City.
Though Christopher Wood has previous run-ins with police he wasn’t convicted of any crime and he was not a felony offender, which would have made it illegal for him to buy the shotgun.
On Friday, Ava’s mother and Wood’s estranged wife called for a status check to be at 6 Triangle Place after her daughter did not show up for school that morning. When police arrived they found both residents dead.
Ava was a ninth-grader at Durgee Junior High School. She played soccer and ran track for her school. Her friends and coaches described her as friendly and popular.
Ava Wood, 14, -- pictured in the Baldwinsville junior varsity soccer team -- was fatally shot inside her Baldwinsville home in an apparent murder-suicide on Friday, Jan. 20, 2023. Courtesy of Baldwinsville School District
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Staff writer Anne Hayes covers breaking news, crime and public safety. You can reach her at ahayes@syracuse.com.