--- description: An Oklahoma man fatally shot his neighbor to stop the new father from trying to drown his 3-month-old twins in a bathtub, authorities said. title: A Neighbor Fatally Shot a Man Trying to Drown His Newborn Twins image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltace9304c088468e6/6988d01e86f68e55066e4fb2/foster1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Crime](/tag/crime/) ## Crime Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # A Neighbor Fatally Shot a Man Trying to Drown His Newborn Twins, Police Say  by [Melissa Chan](/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 5, 2017 3:14 PM CUT  Leland Foster in a 2011 booking photo. Leland Foster in a 2011 booking photo.Oklahoma County Jail  by [Melissa Chan](/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 5, 2017 3:14 PM CUT An Oklahoma man fatally shot his neighbor to stop the new father from trying to drown his 3-month-old twins in a bathtub, authorities said. Cash Freeman rushed into his neighbor’s home Friday to find Leland Foster, 27, allegedly holding the babies inside a tub and his estranged wife at knifepoint in a bathroom, according to [KFOR](http://kfor.com/2017/06/03/oklahoma-man-shoots-kills-neighbor-who-was-trying-to-drown-twin-babies/ "undefined") and [KXII News 12.](http://www.kxii.com/content/news/Ada-PD-investigates-shooting-at-6th-Street-and-Country-Club-Road-425973134.html "undefined") Both outlets cited police. Freeman fatally shot Foster in the back twice, said Lisa Bratcher, a spokeswoman for the city of Ada. A 12-year-old girl who was also inside the home had run out to alert the neighbor to the violence about 12:30 p.m. local time. The twins, one boy and one girl, were taken to the hospital and are now “doing great,” police told [NBC News](http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/neighbor-kills-oklahoma-man-trying-drown-twin-babies-police-say-n768116 "undefined"). It’s unclear whether Freeman will face charges for the fatal shooting. At least one neighbor hailed him as a hero for stepping in. “I think he did the right thing because who knows what would happen, because who knows what would have happened to the babies if he hadn’t intervened?” neighbor Summer Pierce told KFOR. “They might not have made it.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4805390/neighbor-shooting-twins-drowning-oklahoma/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4805390/neighbor-shooting-twins-drowning-oklahoma/"},"headline":"A Neighbor Fatally Shot a Man Trying to Drown His Newborn Twins, Police Say","datePublished":"2017-06-05T15:14:03.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T11:01:23.435Z","description":"At least one neighbor hailed him as a hero for stepping in","url":"https://time.com/4805390/neighbor-shooting-twins-drowning-oklahoma/","keywords":["Crime","Oklahoma","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltace9304c088468e6/6988d01e86f68e55066e4fb2/foster1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Chan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltace9304c088468e6/6988d01e86f68e55066e4fb2/foster1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Foster","caption":"Leland Foster in a 2011 booking photo.","creditText":"Oklahoma County Jail","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/crime/","name":"Crime"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4805390/neighbor-shooting-twins-drowning-oklahoma/","name":"A Neighbor Fatally Shot a Man Trying to Drown His Newborn Twins, Police Say"}}]}] ```