Scant few details but still three things in particular jump out to me
- Shooting happened between 9-9:30pm while Alex was out
So the perpetrator(s) either chose to assault the lodge right at nightfall and Alex happened to be out at that time or they infiltrated in the daylight and waited for Alex to leave. The 9-9:30pm time frame inclines me to believe 9pm is the time Alex has stated he last spoke to the victims or when he left the lodge and 9:30 is when he has stated he discovered the crime scene.
- Paul was shot at least twice with a shotgun, Maggie with what appears to have been an assault rifle
This lone fact paints all kinds of awful possibilities in my mind. I think it's safe to say that the violence was not something that was over in seconds. I also am somewhat inclined to think this indicates that no assault rifle was recovered from the scene but perhaps a shotgun was - or it might just be that characteristic shotgun stippling was obvious enough to first responders before the detectives closed the scene that rumor made its way out. Both of these weapons might also be found in a hunting lodge or even on an atv or whatever vehicle they used on the grounds
- A statement was immediately issued that there was no threat to the community
This one is almost baffling. I understand not wanting a community to panic but the authorities typically want to be 98% sure before they make a statement like this and it almost always means that they believe the perpetrators are either in custody or dead. I'm unsure if they would say this if it was a confirmed targeted attack though, like perhaps if the reason Alex found the scene so quickly is if he received a phone call - which might also indicate something else that I'm not allowed to speculate yet.
Also the loss of the Grandfather. For Alex to have lost his wife, one of his sons and his father in just a few days is so awful I cannot imagine it happening in a just world. No one could possibly deserve that kind of pain, I think?
Edited to add I just now closely read the article on Randolph's death and noticed that Randolph's father, Alex's grandfather was elected the county solicitor (aka district attorney in most states) in 1920, was killed in 1940 in a train crash, was replaced by Randolph who spent his entire career in the position before Alex was appointed to it in the 80s until 2006
when Alex left the position to open a private practice ending the longest family line to have held an office in US history according to the practice's website. It seems awfully strange to me for someone to abandon such a legacy to open a private law firm. Alex must have had a powerful motivation for doing so.
