Gilchrist County, Fla. police have released the 911 call made by Don Spirit the night he shot and killed his daughter and his six grandchildren in their home in the small town of Bell last Thursday evening. "I just shot my daughter and shot all my grandkids and I'll be sitting on my step, and when you get here, I'm going to shoot myself," Don Spirit said on the call. "Every one of them are dead." Briefly after speaking with police, Spirit turned the gun on himself.

As the Orlando Sentinel reports, police also revealed today that Spirit committed the shootings with a .45-caliber handgun—a violation of Florida law that prohibits felons from owning firearms. Spirit served three years in prison after he accidentally shot and killed his 11-year-old son during a hunting trip in 2001.

The 911 call was released a day after the Miami Herald reported that the Florida Department of Children and Families had been investigating the family, and had been called to the home just two weeks before the shooting:

On Monday, DCF administrators released records to the Miami Herald suggesting the family had a long history of failed child protection efforts. Allegations concerning Spirit's parenting ran the gamut: drug abuse, medical neglect, poor supervision of her children, and domestic violence, including fights with her father. Don Spirit had a DCF history also, including an allegation of "the physical abuse of his grandchildren." Don Spirit, DCF was told, "hit one of them with a belt, which resulted in bruising."

Spirit, 51, shot and killed his daughter, Sarah Spirit, 28, and his six grandchildren: Alana Stewart, 2 months; Brandon Stewart, 4; Destiny Stewart, who would have turned 6 on Saturday; Johnathan Kuhlmann, 8; Kylie Kuhlmann, 9, and Kaleb Kuhlmann, 11.

[Image via AP]