Santa Claus, Georgia - A couple and two of their seven foster children were shot and killed in their sleep by a gunman who broke into their home and abducted three other children, police said yesterday.
Mr Danny Daniels, a postman in this rural town in southeastern Georgia, and his wife, Kim, died instantly as did two of their children, a girl aged 16 and a younger boy.
The parents, both in their 40s, and the children were all shot in their beds as they slept in their home, located on "Dasher" street.
The assailant kidnapped three more of the Daniels' children, aged from eight to 10. They were taken some 50 miles (80 kms) away to a neighbouring county where they were released unharmed at dawn.