An elderly pastor wrestled a gun away from his grandson after he allegedly gunned down his wife and four young children.
Brandon Allan Kendrick, 32, faces five counts of capital murder after the mass shooting at his grandfather Allan’s property in rural Alabama.
His wife Kelse Kendrick, 24, was found dead alongside their son Kaleb, six, and Kynli, two, and their cousins Colton, eight, and Haley Daniels, six, on Thursday night.
Kendrick suffered from schizophrenia and family explained to DailyMail.com how his mental state worsened in the weeks before the massacre.
‘Kelse and her children have been victims of domestic violence for years,’ one family member said, claiming he had a history of not taking his medication.
His wife Kelse Kendrick, 24, was found dead alongside their son Kaleb, six, and Kynli, two, and their cousins Colton, eight, and Haley Daniels, six, on Thursday night
Kynli Kendrick, 2, Kaleb Kendrick, 6, Colton Daniels, 8, and Haley Daniels, 6, were found shot to death in rural Alabama on Thursday night
Brandon Allan Kendrick, 32, allegedly dead shot his wife Kelse Kendrick, 24, (left) along with their daughter Kynli and son Kaleb, and the children’s two cousins
Kendrick allegedly gunned down his family at the garage apartment they lived in on Allan Kendrick’s property in West Blocton, about 40 miles south of Birmingham.
Allan told Kelse’s grandfather Bill Morrow how he stumbled upon the crime and confronted his grandson, according to a conversation recounted to Daily Mail.com by Kelse’s uncle Eli Morrow.
The 71-year-old was watching TV in the main house with his wife Gay Kendrick when he heard what sounded like a gunshot and went to investigate.
‘Brandon came at him with the gun, and he fought it away from him. Then he walked over [to the house] and found out what happened. So they were as surprised as everyone else, they didn’t expect it,’ Eli said.
‘Brandon said, ‘Why did you beat me up?’ and Allan told him what he had done… and he just said, ‘Oh’.’
All five were found dead with gunshot wounds to their heads, other than Haley, who was still breathing and rushed to hospital, but did not survive.
Kaden was the last victim and shot outside the garage apartment, possibly while running for his life, which is how Allan heard the gunfire.
‘Allan said the door was knocked off its hinges, almost like she had locked him out and he broke the door down before shooting them. I’m assuming they were having some kind of argument,’ Eli said.
Kendrick faces five counts of capital murder after the mass shooting
Kendrick and Kelse lived with their children in a garage apartment on Kendrick’s grandfather Allan’s rural property. Allan is a pastor at Oasis of Praise Church (pictured preaching there)
Allan, who is the lead pastor of Oasis of Praise Church in nearby Bessemer, called 911 about 8.18pm, and then got on the phone to Bill.
‘Bill, you need to get down here, Brandon has shot Kelse all the kids in the head,’ family said Allan told him.
Bill and his daughter Jessica, who is Colton and Haley’s mother, rushed to the property but found it cordoned off by police when they arrived about 9pm.
Eli said the party was held at family patriarch Bill Morrow’s house ahead of Colton’s ninth birthday on Tuesday.
Kendrick was at not at the party, and his schizophrenic episodes had worsened over the previous two weeks so much that Kelse’s family hadn’t seen her in that time.
‘He got to a point where he couldn’t work full time, so there were financial problems from that, and she was having to take care of the kids and him so she couldn’t work either… which just made it worse,’ Eli said.
‘Things were getting very difficult all the way around… she was doing her best to be a supportive wife.
‘The one time she gets away after things had been so hard for her, he wanted her back home.’
Kendrick’s family was trying to get him on disability, which would have lessened the financial burden.
Allan was watching TV in the main house with his wife Gay Kendrick when he heard what sounded like a gunshot and went to investigate
The shooting took place at his pastor grandfather property in rural Alabama (Kaleb pictured with his sister and family dog on his first day of Pre-K)
Allan, who is the lead pastor of Oasis of Praise Church in nearby Bessemer, called 911 about 8.18pm
Kendrick struggled with schizophrenia and other mental health issues since he was nine, and had a history of not taking his medication.
‘My last conversation with my daughter was about his medication,’ Kelse’s stepfather Joey Hammitt said, adding Kendrick was seeing a doctor.
Kendrick exhibited concerning behavior in the the days before the massacre, including on Thursday morning when he got his hair cut.
‘Brandon Kendrick was just at our hair salon and got his haircut. We have cut his children’s hair too,’ one worker at a Great Clips barber wrote online.
‘He was acting very depressed my coworker asked him about his family, but just shook it off assuming he was going through a rough separation.
‘Goes to show you never know what is going on in someone’s head.’
Kelse’s cousin also noticed ‘off’ behavior from Kendrick when the couple went into the vape shop she worked at on Wednesday.
Kendrick playing on a small dirt bike with Kaleb in the yard of the rural property
Kynli and Kaleb were killed in the massacre on Thursday night
There was also a marked change in Kelse’s social media activity over the past year, changing from speaking in glowing terms about her husband, to appearing increasingly unhappy.
She shared a video on June 26 captioned: ‘Manipulation is when they blame you for your reaction to their toxic behavior but never discuss their disrespect that triggered you.’
Another video one the same day was labeled: ‘If you’re upset because you have to let go of someone you love, listen to this.’
Two minutes earlier she reposted a video of a woman saying, ‘I tell people all the time, when they’re like, oh you’re so strong. I’m like, but I have to be… I wanna be fragile.’
A fourth image read: ‘No one talks about the guilt you feel when you finally decide to leave someone you really love because they constantly hurt you and don’t want to change.’
Yet another video featured a man detailing ‘a man playing the victim in his life will say these things to his wife’.
On May 2, Kelse complained she had to defend herself because no one else was.
‘I feel like living here they think I’m crazy when I go off but I don’t care, gotta get your point across somehow or forever be ran over,’ she wrote.
Kendrick and Kelse at their wedding on September 15, 2018
Kendrick allegedly shot Kelse and the children less than an hour after they returned home from Colton’s birthday party about 7pm after he demanded she come home
April 20 included a video captioned ‘when my husband tells me to drop the attitude that I don’t actually have’ and on March 5 she shared a long post that began ‘This is for anyone who has suffered from an abusive and narcissistic relationship.’
Earlier posts last year included a scene from HBO drama The Bear with a character saying ‘I feel trapped’.
Kelse’s ‘cry for help’ posts were a marked contrast form earlier posts praising Kendrick.
‘Happy Birthday to my best friend I love you so much!! Here’s to another year,’ she wrote last February with a set of happy photos.
In September 2022, Kelse celebrated their anniversary with a sweet tribute.
‘Happy Anniversary to my person 6 years ago I fell for you and 4 years ago today we said forever and ever throughout everything we have stuck together side by side and 6 hard years and two beautiful babies later here we are with forever and ever to go! I love you so much!’ she wrote.
On Valentine’s Day that year she wrote: ‘Thank you for being the man that you are today and an amazing daddy to our babies! I wouldn’t trade you for the world and I’m blessed to call you my valentine.’
Kendrick’s Facebook bio chillingly read: ‘Living life & loving my wonderful wife and kids.’
Haley and Kynli together at a family Fourth of July gathering two weeks before they were killed
Colton and Haley were only at the house because their mother was having major surgery the next morning
Eli’s wife Brittany Morrow explained that the massacre followed a last-minute decision by Kelse to give in to Kendrick’s demands one last time.
‘All of the children were supposed to spend the night at [Bill’s] home,’ Brittany told DailyMail.com.
‘Brandon repeatedly begged and pleaded with her to come home and she gave in… within an hour they were all shot in the head.’
Brittany explained that Colton and Haley’s mother Jessica Morrow, 35, was having major surgery the next morning, so there was no option but to send them with Kelse.
‘We live 45 minutes away. I wish to God they had asked us to take them for the night,’ she said.
‘What we are struggling with the most, is that it was a last-minute decision to take them over there, it was never in the plan because they knew he had been acting crazy.’
Kelse’s car was broken down so Jessica dropped all five of them off at home on Green Tree Drive about 7pm.
Kynli and Kaleb in Halloween costume in their Alabama town
Police swarm the scene late at night on Friday morning
Kelse is Eli’s niece by his older sister, who has since died, and Bill’s grandfather, and the Morrow and Kendrick families have been intertwined for generations.
Eli had custody of Colton and Haley from January 2021 until last November, when a judge allowed them to return to Jessica.
‘Jessica finally got her kids back, and then this happens,’ Brittany said.
‘I am devastated and destroyed… Eli and I had full custody of them for almost three years and they were my babies.’
Police rushed to the scene and arrested Kendrick after discovering the bodies, Bibb County Sheriff Jody Wade said.
‘It’s absolutely horrible. It’s unimaginable what the family is going through, what the friends of the family are experiencing, what the community is feeling right now,’ he said.
‘It was just a horrific scene that even seasoned officers told me it is the worst thing they’ve ever seen.
‘As officers are going, they are saying there are more children that have been shot.’
Wade said Kendrick was yet to tell police why he did it, but ‘I don’t know what motive he could give us that would justify what he did anyway’.
Kendrick was booked into the Bibb County Jail about 3.30am and denied bail.
He is charged with four counts of capital murder of a child under 14, and one count of capital murder in the killing of two or more people in one act.
Kelse’s uncle Eli Morrow had custody of Colton and Haley (front left and right) from January 2021 until last November, with the help of his wife Brittany (top right)
Colton and Haley with their uncle Eli Morrow
Oasis of Praise Church held a prayer vigil with more than 300 members on Friday night, saying proceeds from the collection plate would go to the families.
‘Pastor wanted us to relay to all those asking if they can do anything: ‘Tell everyone asking if they can do something that they can be at church Sunday at 10am’,’ the church wrote on its Facebook page.
‘The church has committed to helping the families with expenses. If you would like to be a part of this effort, please give your donation to the church’s benevolence fund.
‘All donated money will be directed towards the needs of the families involved.’
Eli Morrow also started a GoFundMe page to help pay for the funerals, with his wife explaining the family didn’t want the funeral at Allan’s church.
‘None of the family feel comfortable having it there, he’s offered to have them cremated and have a memorial at his church, but the family has declined,’ Brittany said.
‘But we started the fundraiser because we’re trying to figure out how we’re going to pay for five funerals.’
