Former MSP trooper shoots 2, kills self

IONIA, Mich. (WOOD) - Investigators identified Bart Cunningham, 37, Friday afternoon as the man who shot two relatives at their Ionia home early Friday morning before committing suicide

Cunnningham's wife, 42-year-old Wendy Cunningham, and her 16-year-old son were shot multiple times but are expected to live, Ionia Public Safety Director David Bulling said Friday afternoon.

Bulling said the incident was the result of a domestic situation, but did not release further details.

Bart Cunningham was a former Michigan State Police trooper, a department spokeswoman told 24 Hour News 8. He had served only at the Kalkaska Post and resigned in 2004, she said.

The 37-year-old has a fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct conviction on his record, tied to a May 2002 incident.  A jury convicted him on a charge of domestic violence against Wendy Cunningham based on a December 2007 incident.

Court records of the 2007 incident obtained by 24 Hour News 8 show Wendy Cunningham called police claiming to have been assaulted, but officers testified they did not find any evidence of injury. In court, Wendy Cunningham said he grabbed at her hand but she did not remember much of the incident. Bart Cunningham testified that he tried to grab his wife's purse and she hit him back.

Public safety officers were first called to the home in the 400 block of Baldie Street east of downtown Ionia around 4:30 a.m.

"Once officers were on scene, they were able to make contact with a 13-year-old that was still in the home," Bulling said Friday morning. The 13-year-old was Bart and Wendy Cunningham's daughter, investigators said, and was not hurt in the incidents. She is now staying with other relatives, they said.

Roughly 50 minutes later, the county's critical incident team -- made up of public safety officers and sheriff's department personnel -- entered the home, Bulling said. Investigators found "one deceased individual," he said. "At this time, the initial investigation has shown that person to be the shooter."

The two victims had multiple gunshot wounds and were taken from the scene by air, he said. The Michigan State Police crime lab was called to the scene to investigate.

Some streets in the area were closed for a time and nearby Saints Peter and Paul school, which served as a staging area for police, canceled school Friday.