Father kills family, self, police say

ST. LOUIS, Missouri (CNN) -- A 34-year-old man entered a park Monday night and shot and killed both his estranged wife and their 10-year-old son, who had just finished playing a game of softball, police said. The man later killed himself.

Police Chief Joe Mokwa said the 31-year-old mother was inside her car around 7:15 p.m. (8:15 p.m. EDT), when her husband drove his gold Cadillac into Penrose Park, got out of the car and shot her.

"He then approached the boy, took him about 20 feet from the car and shot him," said police spokeswoman Adella Jones.

The boy suffered several gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead on the scene, police said. The mother died at an area hospital.

VIDEO Man suspected of shooting a young boy and a woman takes his own life in St. Louis. KSDK's Cordell Whitlock reports (July 16) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)

Police say the father then fled, and they chased his car for several miles, but lost him. A few minutes later, they came upon the car parked on the southbound shoulder of Interstate 55. The suspect was dead "from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head," Mokwa said.

A handgun was found in the car, police said.

The names of those killed were not being released pending notification of relatives.