Names Released Of 3 Dead In Apparent Murder-Suicide In Jenks

Jenks Police have released the names and ages of two little boys who they said were murdered by their own father, who then killed himself.

Police said 36-year-old Thang Khen gathered all four of his children in the garage of their home and shot eight-year-old Peter and 10-year-old Samual before turning the gun on himself.

Officers said Peter died at the scene; Khen and Samual died later at the hospital.

Grief counselor Emilie Smith said murders and suicides are two of the hardest types of tragedies to deal with.

"Both of those are things where we think, well, it didn't have to happen," Smith said. "He didn't have to come in and do that. Should I have known? Should I have figured out something was wrong? Why did I leave, why didn't I stay there, why didn't I, why didn't I?"

Officers said a newborn and a nine-year-old were also there, but the nine-year-old was able to escape to another part of the home after witnessing the shooting.

"A death changes us permanently," Smith said. "Witnessing it, there aren't even words to describe how that's going to change you. But it will. It already has."

Smith said moving forward, the best thing loved ones can do for the children is allow them to grieve in their own way.

"The goal isn't to have everything be the same and him not be effected by it. It's not possible," she said. "The goal is going to be to give him the support, and the opportunity to talk about it, to work through it and deal with it."

Smith said no one could have known the tragedy that lay ahead for Thang Khen and his children, and she hopes the family knows they're not at fault.

"The reason they didn't do something different is because this was totally out of the blue," she said. "You cannot know what's in another person's mind unless they tell you."

Smith said The Grief Center is open to anyone who has been impacted by this tragedy, and they never turn anyone away. Click here for more information.