Why Man Kills Two Sons Before Taking Own Life

Douglas Pennington was a sick man. He suffered from mental illness and was being treated. The treatment he received was not enough to keep him from taking his two sons life and his own. On Sept. 2, 2006 Douglas Pennington drove two hours from his home in Scherr to Shepherd University where he met his two sons in the parking lot of Thatcher Hall. There he shot his older son, Logan Pennington, 26 before he turned the gun on the younger son, Benjamin Pennington, 24 who was trying to run away. Douglas Pennington then turned the gun on himself. All three men died of their gun related injuries at separate local hospitals.

Douglas Pennington had been seeing Psychiatric Physicians at Western Maryland Health System. Douglas was being medicated although his mother, Mary Pennington, says he was experiencing negative side effects from the medicine. The family had attempted to have Douglas hospitalized for his condition but was unsuccessful.

Douglas Pennington kept journals of his thoughts, he says,"I see what I've done and I see what's coming for my family and I can't let that happen to them."
"I lose anyway I turn, and so do they."
"How can I possibly do what I have to do? I can't stand the thought of one hair of their head being harmed, and now I'm forced to do something to spore [sic] them any more suffering," Douglas also wrote, "I see Ben being taken from us (coming up missing, taken somewhere and tortured and killed)."

Douglas Pennington purchased a .38 caliber gun On Aug. 31, 2006 just two days before he took off on his road trip to end both his sons lives as well as his own. Police say the weapon was purchased from Knobley Farms Liberty Store in New Creek.

His journal writings seems to explain the reason for the three deaths at the Shepherd University campus this past fall. One man who suffered from mental illness and was still able to purchase a .38 caliber just days before the killings. With the request from the family to have this man hospitalized and the journal writings and letters that he took with him to the scene of the crime it is astonishing nothing was done to stop this tragedy before it occurred. The warning signs had all been flagged but still the death of two bright young college men, brothers, were taken by their own father along with his own life.
(www.journal-news.net NAOMI SMOOT / Journal Staff Writer)