Grandfather Kills Daughter, Six Grandchildren in Murder-Suicide
Two adults and six children were killed in a shooting in Bell, Fla. this evening, Gilchrist County police confirm. The town, about 30 miles west of Gainesville, Fox Orlando reports, is home to about 350 people.
Update, 8:09 p.m.: Stephanie Bechara, a reporter for the ABC affiliate in Gainesville, has tweeted that shooting may have been part of a murder-suicide.
Florida Department of Law Enforcement on scene. Neighbors believe this was a murder suicide involving 6 kids. #Bell #BellShooting @WCJB20
— Stephanie Bechara (@BecharaReports) September 18, 2014
Sources tell us a man, Don Spirit killed his daughter, Sarah Spirit and his 6 grandkids. #BellShooting @WCJB20 #Bell
— Stephanie Bechara (@BecharaReports) September 19, 2014
Update, 8:31 p.m.: At a press conference, the Gilchrist County police department has confirmed that they responded to a call at a home in Bell, Fla. around 4 p.m. EST. Shortly after police made contact with a man, he turned his gun on himself. Police also confirmed that the man was a grandfather who shot and killed his daughter and his six grandchildren, believed to be aged 3 months to about 10-years-old.
Update, 8:38 p.m.: Gilchrist County police have confirmed what Stephanie Bechara first reported, that the shooter was Don Spirit, 52.
Update, 8:46 p.m.:
Photo: Bell, Florida mass shooting suspect Don Spirit - pic.twitter.com/tqsczNTWzy
— Matthew Keys (@MatthewKeysLive) September 19, 2014
Update, 9:44 p.m.: Paige Beck, with the ABC affiliate in Gainesville, is reporting that Spirit had previously served a three-year prison sentence after accidentally shooting and killing his eight-year-old son in 2001 in a hunting accident. From the Orlando Sentinel's 2001 report:
Don Charles Spirit pleaded guilty to a charge of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon just as his trial was set to begin, in exchange for the minimum sentence. He could have faced a prison term of three to 15 years if convicted by a jury.
[Image via WFTV]