LAND O' LAKES, Fla. — A man shot his wife and 5-year-old daughter Tuesday night in Land O' Lakes, killing the woman and injuring the little girl before turning the gun on himself, the Pasco County Sheriff's Office said.
"A 5-year-old girl no longer has a mother or father," Sheriff Chris Nocco said early Wednesday in a news conference detailing what he called a "horrific" domestic violence situation that ended in a murder-suicide.
According to Nocco, the man had been arrested back in August for domestic battery. It was at that time the woman "did the right thing" and got a domestic violence injunction to keep her husband and father of her child away from her and her daughter, Nocco explained.
Flash-forward to Tuesday evening: Nocco said the 5-year-old had been with a babysitter until the mother got to the Marchmont Boulevard home. The mother paid the babysitter and then she and her daughter proceeded to walk outside with the babysitter.
As the babysitter gets into the car and starts to leave, she reportedly sees a man running toward the mother and her child. He starts shooting at both of them, Nocco said.
That's when the babysitter calls 911 to report what happened. Before deputies and first responders arrived, the child ran back into the house.
The mother died at the scene, the sheriff said.
Nocco continued that as deputies were there, the 5-year-old girl came out of the house and reportedly told them her father was upstairs in the master bathroom and she had heard a "big bang."
As they were speaking to the little girl, Nocco said deputies realized she had been shot, too. Deputies then "immediately" got the girl to fire rescue to receive treatment.
She was rushed to the hospital and is with a victim advocate and child protective services, Nocco added.
A SWAT team was then called to the home because law enforcement didn't know if the man was "alive, dead or was going to harm law enforcement or anyone else."
Law enforcement went upstairs and found the man dead. He had a gun beside him, according to the sheriff.
"This is a horrific situation," Nocco said. "To the family members, to everybody involved — our hearts go out to them."
Nocco said authorities will work to get the child into family care and make sure she is safe "physically, mentally and spiritually."
"Because now this child will have to carry this with her for the rest of her life," Nocco said. "Every time she thinks about the Christmas season, she's going to remember this horrific time."
If you or someone you know is being victimized by domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233. Here in Florida, you can report abuse 24/7 by calling the Department of Children and Families at 1-800-962-2873 or submitting a report online here.
To view the full news conference, see below or click here.