Teen shot dead by father during running practice

By Michelle Morgante, Associated Press, 9/6/2003

SAN DIEGO -- A 14-year-old youth jogging with his high school cross-country team was shot and killed in an ambush by his father, who killed himself hours later in a standoff with police.

William Hoffine, 58, had been in deep debt and was enmeshed in a bitter custody battle with his son's mother, who had obtained a court order to keep him away.

"For whatever reason, he decided he was going to kill himself and decided his son would be better off dead rather than live without him," police Lieutenant Mike Hurley said.

Hoffine stepped out from behind a parked van Thursday afternoon and fired several shots at his son, then reloaded his pistol and fired into the fallen youth's head as his teammates scrambled for cover, witnesses and police said.

Hoffine then drove to a friend's home and spent nearly 10 hours in on-and-off negotiations with police before shooting himself in the head early yesterday.

The victim, Evan Nash, had started his freshman year of high school three days before. At his middle school, he helped establish an antiviolence program.

Tommy Ramirez, owner of a restaurant frequented by the father and son, said that shortly before the shooting everything seemed normal as Hoffine ordered an enchilada to go and asked if his son had jogged by.

A few minutes later the team ran past and the father called out to the youth, who nodded and kept jogging, said Ramirez. "He didn't seem to me that he was just about to kill somebody," Ramirez said. "I'm just wondering what was going through his head." Hoffine drove to the home of a friend and told her what he had done before allowing the woman and her daughter to leave, Hurley said. After hours of negotiations, a SWAT team burst in early yesterday and found Hoffine dead. Hurley said no note was found.