A 51-years old man shot and killed his daughter and her six children before taking his own life on Thursday in Bell, Gilchrist County, Florida.
According to Sheriff Robert D. Schultz III, who briefed the press about the incident, the suspect identified as Don C. Spirit placed a call to the police threatening to harm himself and others. When the cops arrived at the scene, Mr. Spirits allegedly had a short interaction with them before killing himself.
The Gilchrist County Sheriff noted that the bodies of the victims were strewn across the property when the cops arrived on the deserted property. The deceased persons have been identified as Sarah Lorraine Spirit, 28, who was the daughter of Mr. Spirit, as well as her children; Kaleb, Kylie, Johnathan, Destiny, Brandon and Alana.
Reports indicate that investigations have been open into the incident. Although the names of the victims have been released, other details are sketchy as cops have been tight-lipped about these gruesome murders.
It is still unclear why Mr. Spirit, who the cops say has a criminal record, decided to murder his family. The sister of the late Lorraine's partner, Katie Stewart, has told the LA Times that the father and daughter had frequent quarrels, which apparently forced her to move out of the property owned by the late Mr. Spirit. Nonetheless, she has confessed that "I don't really see him doing that [the murders] for no reason."
Reports indicate that the late Mr. Spirit had bi-polar disorder. Steward is quoted explaining that "He was taking medicine, but a couple of days ago, before this happened, he said he was going to quit taking his medicine because it wasn't helping him."
Meanwhile, on Friday the people of Gilchrist paid honor to the memories of Lorraine and her children at a local High School football game.
