Oregon Man Kills Kids, Himself, On Hiking Trail

May 31, 2009 12:04 p.m. EST

Portland, OR (AHN) - Police say a man shot and killed his 7-year-old son and his 6-year-old daughter before turning the gun on himself on a hiking trail in Oregon.

Hillsboro Police say the man, 45-year-old James Gumm, killed his son Tyler and daughter Kylie, and that he was under stress and unemployed at the time of the murders. He used a 9-milimeter handgun.

Their bodies were found by a hiker on Saturday morning at the Jackson Bottom Wetlands Preserve. Nearby residents told police they heard the gunshots.

Hillsboro Police spokesman Henry Reimann said records show Gumm and his wife filed for divorce twice - once in 1992 and again in 2007.

Lt. Michael Rouches, another Hillsboro Police spokesman, told local television station KATU, the murders happened during Gumm's allotted custody time with his kids.

Gumm's ex-wife did not want to comment on the murders, and asked for privacy through the police.