ADA, OK (KFOR/CNN) – A father in Oklahoma is accused of trying to drown his infant twins in the bathtub before a neighbor stepped in and killed the man.
Authorities say Leland Foster allegedly held the mother of his 3-month-old twins at knifepoint Friday as he attempted to drown the infants in the tub.
A 12-year-old girl who was in the home ran next door to a neighbor’s house for help.
The neighbor, Cash Freeman, ran to the house armed with a gun, officials say, and shot Foster twice in the back, killing him.
The infants were rushed to an Oklahoma City hospital and survived.
Freeman says he’s shaken by what happened but feels he did what he had to do to save the babies. However, he also says he’s worried he could be in trouble for his actions.
Neighbor Summer Pierce doesn’t think he should be.
"I think he did the right thing because who knows what would have happened to the babies if he hadn't intervened. They might not have made it,” Pierce said.
Officials say Freeman has been questioned and released, but it will be up to a district attorney to decide if this was a justified homicide.
This isn’t Foster’s first alleged act of violence.
According to court documents, Foster was charged with domestic abuse by strangulation and arson in the first degree. He pleaded no contest.
Now, neighbors say they’re hopeful it’s all over.
"I'm glad they're OK because they were premature babies when they were born, so they were likely to have problems anyway and this could have just added onto it. But I'm glad that they're OK, and I'm glad they won't remember it. I hope they make a 100 percent recovery,” Pierce said.
The twins have since been released from the hospital.
Copyright 2017 KFOR, Ada Police Department via CNN. All rights reserved.
