Cops: Tyrone man killed mother a day before both found dead in burning car

Suspect held 2 others hostage before suicide, police say
Khalid Auta, 32, was found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound in a burning car in Fayetteville, Tyrone police said.

Khalid Auta, 32, was found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound in a burning car in Fayetteville, Tyrone police said.

A Fayette County man is dead after an alleged multiday rampage in which authorities said he killed his mother, took his child and his child’s mother hostage overnight, then drove away with his mother’s body and set fire to his car before shooting himself.

Khalid Auta, 32, was found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound Tuesday night in Fayetteville, Tyrone police said in a statement. The body of his mother, 59-year-old Sonya Reid, was also found in the car. Both were residents of Tyrone.

Officers were called to a home on McDade Street for a wellness check just before 9 p.m., police said. At the scene, the 911 caller said Auta, her child’s father, had killed his mother Monday before coming to the house and holding her and their child hostage overnight and through most of the next day.

Not long after officers were called to the house, Auta’s burning car was found in Fayetteville, police said. Both Auta and Reid were pronounced dead at the scene.

Detectives searched Auta and Reid’s living spaces for any evidence related to the killing, and the investigation remains open, police said. No further information has been released.

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