On Tuesday, a Florida student was attending the first day of her online Zoom class when her mom was shot and killed. Just after eight in the morning, the shooting happened at a home in Indiantown, roughly 30 miles southwest of Port St. Lucie.
Martin County Sheriff William Snyder said that they took suspect Donald J. Williams into custody that same day. Not only does Williams face charges of first-degree murder, but he also faces felony offenses.
Shooting happened during daughter's online class
The ten-year-old daughter, who was taking an online class for Warfield Elementary, was with six other children at home during the time of the shooting. At a news conference on Tuesday, Snyder said that the student's teacher witnessed the child's reaction during the shooting incident.
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He said that since he has never done a Zoom with kids, he is guessing that there are other children online when the incident happened. The teacher said she heard a commotion and realized that there was some type of domestic altercation.
Since the child was still online, the teacher muted the student's button so others could not hear what is happening. Then, she sees that the child put her hands up to her ears. Almost immediately, the computer screen went blank. Snyder believes that the computer was hit with a projectile.
Martin County School District spokesperson sends their deepest condolences and sympathy to the family and children who witnessed the heartbreaking and senseless tragedy. They will provide grief counselors for students and staff who need them.
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The district said that law enforcement is investigating what happened. They will continue to respect the privacy of the teacher and their students.
Arguments led to the shooting
The sheriff explained that the investigators believe that Williams and the child's mom, Maribel Rosado-Morales, were arguing. He believes that the two dated before. He said that the suspect went in to confront Rosado-Morales about a video.
Later, the duo talked about Facebook, then the mom smiled at Williams, enraging the latter and leading him to shoot her. The sheriff said that the 32-year-old mom was shot multiple times and died at a hospital.
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Thankfully, none of the kids was injured. Four of the children were Rosado-Morales', and two were cousins. The sheriff believes that most of the children witnessed the shooting.
Williams fled after the shooting but was arrested when a bus driver found him suspicious and called 911. The sheriff said that the suspect was trying to go to a place the bus does not travel to. Snyder found a gun in the 27-year-old suspect's bag. Later on, Williams made a full confession but it is not yet clear if he has obtained an attorney.
The sheriff noted that officers were in their home for domestic violence incidents last year, but based on records, there was not an "ongoing problem."
