A Florida community is reeling after a deadly shooting spree left three generations of a family, including a 4-month-old baby and a 4-year-old child, dead across two crime scenes, authorities said Monday.
Officers first responded early Sunday to a disturbance on a residential street in Plant City, where they found four shooting victims, the Plant City Police Department said. The 4-month-old and 4-year-old children were pronounced dead at the scene. Their 28-year-old mother was rushed to a hospital but later died. A third child was found unharmed.
Investigators soon linked the violence to a second location less than a mile away, where the children’s 55-year-old grandmother was found dead from a gunshot wound. Police said she was the mother of the 28-year-old woman.
Authorities believe individuals traveled on foot between the two scenes during the early morning hours, prompting a citywide search for clues.
Detectives are now urging residents and businesses to review surveillance footage from 5:30 a.m. to 7 a.m. Sunday, especially any video showing a woman walking with three young children near North Burton Street or West Tever Street.
Neighbors say there were warning signs in the days leading up to the killings.
“They had some type of disagreement on Friday to where the police were called by the wife. Then in that time, her mother came,” John Czarniak, who lives near one of the scenes, told FOX13 Tampa. He added that he saw suspicious behavior the night before the shooting, including a man strapping on a bulletproof vest and loading a large duffel bag into a car.
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Residents in the area described the aftermath as devastating.
“We’re devastated. Watching everything that unfolded is horrible,” neighbor Jody Kott told the station. “From what I saw, they will need every prayer they can get.”
Police have not released the identities of the victims or named a suspect. A motive has yet to be confirmed.
The investigation remains ongoing. Authorities are asking anyone with information to contact the Plant City Police Department at 813-763-3316 or submit tips anonymously.
