Florida deputy kills 3 relatives, including child, in murder-suicide

PLANT CITY, Fla. (AP/WSVN) — Authorities in Florida say a sheriff’s deputy killed three relatives, including a child, before killing himself outside of a high school.

The incident unfolded Wednesday morning in Plant City, a rural community east of Tampa.

The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office says a woman and a child were killed at one home, a woman was killed at another home, and the deputy shot himself outside Plant City High School in front of three other deputies who had arrived at the scene.

Sheriff Chad Chronister said during a news conference the deputy came on the department’s main radio channel to say he’d harmed his family. He also told deputies he was going to kill himself at the high school.

“Unfortunately the deputy took his own life on scene in front of the three deputies,” the sheriff said.

Fox 13 reports that the deputy had been with the department for 27 years and had retired in 2016 before being rehired several months ago to serve as on-campus security at an elementary school.

“We are saddened beyond comprehension that this has occurred on our watch,” the sheriff’s office said on Twitter. “Our hearts go out to the victims and their families as we try work to understand all the details in this case.”

Names of the victims and the deputy weren’t immediately released.

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