Arizona Dad Who Shot His 2 Kids Had Been Honored by Church on Father’s Day 2023

Brock Mater, the Surprise, Arizona, man who police say murdered his two kids in May 2024, posted on Facebook nearly a year before about celebrating Father’s Day in church, where he was honored by being given a spear.

The top visible post on Mater’s Facebook page shows a video of the church service. He wrote, “Super cool Father’s Day at church. On top of some flattering recognition, I got a spear! There was a great sermon about 2 Samuel 23:20-23 and Benaiah (who was mighty with a spear) that led up to this so check it out on Radiant Church.”

The post was from June 2023.

Hope Mater, Brock’s estranged wife, changed her Facebook profile picture to one of her kids and her relationship status to widowed. “My angels💙” she wrote with a picture of the kids on May 23, 2024.

“So proud of my husband Brock Mater being honored today at church! Happy Father’s Day,” she had previously written in a June 2023 Facebook reel.

“Please pray for my family and Hope Mater 🙏 My brother Brock Mater and his kids will be mourned and missed😢” Larissa Mater wrote on Facebook on May 22, 2024.

Arizona Police Say Brock Mater Shot His 2 Kids in the Head With a Rifle Before Taking His Own Life

In a press release, Surprise, Arizona, police wrote that, on May 20, 2024, just after 12:30 p.m., “officers from the Surprise Police Department responded to the area of Bell and Litchfield roads for a welfare check on a father and two children.”

The female caller “reported she was going through a divorce and her children were visiting their father, her estranged husband, over the weekend,” the release said. “The mother became concerned after the children’s school called to report an unexcused absence. The mother informed officers that she had attempted to call the children’s father multiple times without success.”

According to the police press release, the mother “then went to his residence and knocked on the door multiple times without a response. The mother contacted the Surprise Police Department after she saw the father’s vehicle at the home.”

Surprise officers “arrived and found the residence secured. They attempted multiple knocks, announcements, and telephone calls without a successful response,” the release says. “Concerned for the welfare of all parties, officers entered the residence to perform a welfare check. Sadly, both children and their father were found deceased inside the residence. All three had gunshot wounds to the head in an apparent murder-suicide.”

According to the release: “Officers located a rifle across the father’s lap. The father was identified as 34-year-old Brock Mater. The children involved were a 7-year-old boy and 6-year-old girl. Investigators have learned that Brock Mater was currently undergoing mental health treatment.”

If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, dial 988 to reach the toll-free Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. It’s available 24 hours a day, seven days a week (dial 888-628-9454 for assistance in Spanish). You can also speak with a trained crisis counselor anytime by texting HOME to 741741 to reach the Crisis Text Line.

Brock Mater Previously Reported Having ‘Suicidal & Homicidal Ideations,’ Reports Say

Court documents obtained by Fox 10 say that the father, on October 16, 2023, violated an order of protection “by going to the home and yelling and screaming for Mother, as witnessed by a neighbor, in addition to calling her on the telephone.”

He had taken the children out of school that day and to a hotel without the mother’s permission, according to Fox 10. He told law enforcement that he was “having suicidal and homicidal ideations and was fearful for himself and his children” and called them, the report says. He was taken to a hospital and kept there on a psychiatric hold, Fox 10 reported.

When the mother went to pick up the children at a hotel, she found “all the belongings that Father had taken from the Home,” including tools, kid’s toys, and furnishings, lined from floor to ceiling,” according to the outlet.

According to AZ Family, Mater’s wife “filed for an order of protection back in October, claiming he emotionally and sexually abused her.”

When she announced she wanted to divorce him, she said he “threatened to kill himself in front of their two children,” the outlet reported. The protection order was lifted in May, according to AZFamily, although the reason is not given.

Brock Mater Frequently Posted About His Kids on Facebook

On his Facebook page, Mater described himself as a “Solutions Consultant II at Harris Company” who worked as a “Former Mechanical Engineering Estimator at J & B Sales Co.,” and a “Former Mechanic at Gen-Star Electric.”

He also worked as a “Former Home repair and maintenance technician at Mr. Handyman,” according to the page, and “Studied Mechanical engineering at Western Michigan University.”

His page said he was married, lived in Surprise, Arizona, and was from Charlotte, Michigan, where he graduated from high school.

On June 17, 2023, he wrote, “Over halfway filled with dirt thanks to my neighbor and his beastly truck. The kids were excited they got to wash one more vehicle today too.”

In another post, he wrote, “The kids had a blast helping out with a car was at Dysart Community Center as well as tossing some replaced broken ceiling tiles. Outreach with Radiant Church.” He also wrote about playing pickleball and Pokemon with his son.

His Facebook page is filled with photos of his children and family.