The victims have not been publicly identified.
Two adults and a 3-year-old were shot and killed after an argument over the sale of a dog turned violent at a Florida apartment complex, the New York Post reported. The incident happened on Saturday night when cops responded to a report of shots fired and found two adults and a 3-year-old child killed, and another adult injured.
During a press conference, Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office Assistant Chief J.D. Stronko told reporters that five people, including the child, had gone to a luxury apartment complex at about 10 p.m. on Saturday to meet with some people about the sale of a dog. Soon an argument ensued between them, leading to shots being fired. It is unclear whether the people went to the apartment to buy or sell the canine.
“For reasons that are unknown to us at this time, a dispute ensued in a breezeway between two of the apartment buildings, resulting in four of the five individuals being shot. We have just as many questions regarding this incident as you do right now,” he said.
He added that survivors and witnesses were being interviewed. Some witnesses told police that they saw two men seen fleeing the scene in a black sedan.
Another woman named Rachel, a resident at the JTB Apartment complex, told WJXT, ”I was laying in bed and heard the pop, pop, pop. It was five or six gunshots, and I heard screaming. I was petrified of them. I really don’t expect this to happen. You hear about gunshots, especially around Jacksonville but you don’t assume it’s going to happen in your backyard, especially in a safe neighborhood.”
Mr Stronko said the two adults killed and the one wounded were all in their 20s. However, their identities have not been revealed.
The relationship between the victims was also not disclosed because of a state law that gives certain rights to victims. An investigation into the case is now underway.
In a similar shocking incident of mass murder, a couple and their two young children, along with the family’s three dogs, were found fatally shot in a suburban Chicago home last week. The bodies were found about 8.40 pm on Sunday in Romeoville by police after officers stopped by their home for a welfare check.
Days later, the man suspected of murdering them was found dead inside a burning car in Oklahoma, the New York Post reported. 31-year-old Nathaniel Huey Jr., of Streamwood, Illinois, and an unnamed woman, who were identified as persons of interest in the killings, were involved in a car crash and shooting in Catoosa, Oklahoma, police said in a press conference.
