BELL, Fla. (AP) – A man who spent time in prison a decade ago for the shooting death of his young son killed six of his grandchildren, including an infant, his adult daughter and himself in a rampage at a home where authorities in the small Florida town say they had been called to in the past.
The shooter, 51-year-old Don Spirit, called 911 Thursday afternoon to say he might harm himself or others, Gilchrist County Sheriff Robert Schultz said at a news conference. When a deputy arrived, Spirit committed suicide and authorities then found the seven gunshot victims “all over on the property,” Schultz said.
Schultz wouldn’t say if a weapon was recovered or what sort was used. He didn’t have a motive for the massacre but said deputies had been to the home in the past for various reasons.
“There’s still a lot of unanswered questions. There’s going to be questions that we’re never going to get answered,” he said.
Schultz also did not say if slain 28-year-old Sarah Lorraine Spirit was the mother of any of the two boys and four girls, some of whom spent a lot of time at the rural home.