Questions rise after tragic standoff

LOCKPORT, N.Y. (WIVB) - A deadly day-long drama in the Town of Lockport involved a woman shot in the face by her husband who shot himself. It may have been their three-year-old child who helped SWAT teams eventually go into the house.

Niagara County Sheriff James Voutour said, “Our biggest fear was that we lost the whole family.”

It all started at about 9:45 a.m. Wednesday, when 40-year-old Leanne Tucker was shot in the face in her home on Campbell Boulevard in Lockport. Voutour explained, "She ran to the road seeking help. There was a second shot heard that she reported."

  PHOTO GALLERY | See photos from the scene of the standoff Wednesday. You can see authorities at the home, and the surrounding area, in this photo gallery.

She said she was shot by her husband, 44-year-old Morris Tucker, who was still inside with their three-year-old daughter. It was a standoff for hours. Sheriff Voutour is enlisting the help of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms to find out how a convicted felon got an assault rifle.

A SWAT team used a PA system to try to call Morris Tucker to the door, and then tried to get the attention of the little girl.

Voutour said, “Because we spent the whole time calling out his name and one of my team members on SWAT had the idea 'Let's call her name', and sure enough, she came to the door and waved her out and she came running out."

Police gathered enough information from her to send a robot into the home and find 44-year-old Morris Tucker dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Tucker was not a stranger to law enforcement. In 1999 he pleaded guilty to shooting 32-year-old Jenipher Behm the previous year. Behm eventually died from her wound. Tucker served six years in prison, despite the fact that he and another witness insisted it was an accident.

Leanne Tucker remains in critical condition Thursday morning.