US man kills daughter, six grandchildren in Florida shooting
A man who spent time in prison a decade ago for the shooting death of his son killed six of his grandchildren, his adult daughter and himself in a rampage at a home where authorities say they had been called to in the past.
A man who spent time in prison a decade ago for the shooting death of his son killed six of his grandchildren, his adult daughter and himself in a rampage at a home where authorities say they had been called to in the past.
Official records showed that both Spirit and his daughter, 28-year-old Sarah Lorraine Spirit, had arrest records.
Schultz would not say if a weapon was recovered. He did not suggest a motive for the massacre but said deputies had been to the home in the past.
"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 Sarah 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. All the children were aged 11 or under, the youngest just three months old.
As darkness fell, police had cordoned off the length of the dirt road leading to the home near the town of Bell.
Schultz said Spirit was the only suspect and that some people were left alive at the home.
According to the Florida Department of Corrections website, Spirit was released from prison in February 2006 for a gun charge.
According to a 2003 report, a 40-year-old Don Spirit pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in the fatal shooting of his eight-year-old son, Kyle, in a 2001 hunting accident. He was sentenced to three years' jail.
Bell resident Daniel Barry was trying to absorb the loss in the community. "It's tragic, the kids. Even if there were family problems, why involve the kids?" he said. "It's enough that he took his daughter's life, but his grandkids, too? It's surreal."
