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Father torches house, shoots kids

AJ Moton died on the street after being shot by his father. His 14-year-old brother, Stephen, was found shot and killed inside the family home. A third brother, Charles remains hospitalized. A.J. once posted online about his father: "gawd he's so crazy."

AJ Moton was one of two brothers shot to death by their father last night.  A third was also wounded.
AJ Moton was one of two brothers shot to death by their father last night. A third was also wounded.Read more

In the spring, Alfred "AJ" Moton wore a lime green bow tie and vest to match his prom date's colorful dress and the former choir boy flashed a wide, sparkling smile for every camera.

The Pennsauken resident worried, via Facebook updates, about graduating from nearby Camden Catholic High School but the nervous anticipation of college life at Rowan University and his 18th birthday seemed to propel him through a long, hot summer.

"I am the kindest and most generous person you could meet," Moton wrote about himself on his Facebook page.

Sometimes, Moton liked to play video games with his brothers inside the basement of their Royal Avenue home. Thursday night, though, Moton and his 16-year-old brother, Charles, fled their home in a panic, spilling out into the wet streets with gunshot wounds after authorities say their father, 54-year-old Alfred Moton, allegedly went berserk.

AJ Moton died on the street, his 14-year-old brother, Stephen, was found shot and killed inside the home, and Charles remains hospitalized Friday at Cooper University Hospital with a gunshot wound to the chest, authorities said.

Police shot and killed their father when he charged them, said Jason Laughlin, a spokesman for the Camden County Prosecutor's Office.

"Things happened very quickly once police got there," said Laughlin.

Police responded to the area around 10:35 p.m. for a report of an unconscious person lying on the street and found Charles Moton woundedon Beacon Street. AJ Moton was found dead nearby, on Henwood Avenue.

Minutes later, police found themselves in the backyard of Moton's burning home with guns drawn, Laughlin said, commanding the 54-year-old who had just committed the unthinkable to drop the gasoline, lighter, and handgun in his hands.

Moton didn't listen, and Pennsauken officers shot and killed him when he charged them.

Laughlin said an elderly man was found inside the home, unharmed, and Moton's wife had been at work during the shootings. He declined to confirm the identities of the three brothers.

Property records showed the home belonged to Alfred and Leonor Moton. Laughlin said Alfred Moton had doused the home with gasoline and officer saw him standing in a back sun room once they received reports of a fire in the two-story brick house.

"The house was almost gutted by the fire," Laughlin said.

Alfred Moton did not appear to have any serious criminal convictions or long-term financial problems.

On his Facebook page, the younger Alfred Moton said he worked at McDonald's and had two siblings, Stephen and Chuck, who appeared to be a Camden Catholic student from his Facebook picture. AJ last logged on to Facebook Wednesday night, excited that he had didn't have work, chores, or homework.

AJ Moton mentioned his father once in a Facebook update, back inJanuary:

"My dad is talkin about how the H1N1 shots are a set up for 2012, just like in I AM LEGEND, and the he's talkin about how the government is makin a DEATHSTAR to destroy earth to regular the population, gawd he's so crazy, nuffin gonna happen anyway lmao."