A Florida dad fatally shot his 5-year-old daughter in the head and critically injured her 8-year-old brother soon after their mom kissed them goodnight in what local officials called an extremely disturbing domestic incident on Monday night, August 29.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said that the shots were fired around 10:30 p.m. at a home located at Armature Gate Townhomes on the 13000 block of Heritage Club Drive, WESH reported.
Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister was emotional during his press briefing, saying the kids' mother was out to dinner and arrived home to give her children, who were in their bunk beds, a goodnight kiss.
Mom thought the shots came outside their home
Chronister said that after kissing her children, the mother went straight to the bathroom and suddenly heard gunshots. Assuming that the gunshots were fired outside her home, she ran outside and encountered a neighbor who had already called 911 to alert authorities about the incident.
The mom then took the phone to describe what she heard. That was the moment when her husband, Jermaine Bass, came out of their home carrying their 8-year-old son. He told his wife to call for help for the injured boy.
Deputies rushed to the scene and found the dad in the living room still holding the wounded child, according to the New York Post. Chronister said that Bass repeatedly told the police that he accidentally shot his son.
As they prepared to transport the injured kid to Tampa General Hospital, deputies asked Bass if anyone else was in the home. He responded that the boy's younger sister was sleeping upstairs on the top of the bunk bed she shared with her older brother.
Chronister said that when deputies went upstairs to find the boy's sister, they made the gruesome discovery that a 5-year-old girl was lying in a pool of her own blood on the top bunk.
Bass shooting his kids was no accident
The girl's death was evidently no accident as she had been shot several times in the head. Both children were taken to the hospital, where the young girl was pronounced dead. Chronister said the girl's brother, who was also shot in the head, is also fighting for his life in the hospital.
Bass was taken into police custody and is now facing first-degree murder charges, according to ABC Action News. Chronister told reporters that you don't accidentally shoot your children three to four times in the head.
The ghastly discovery left police officers shaken. Chronister admitted that they at the sheriff's office are struggling today. He said that their detectives and deputies on the scene would need some help. He added that they are bringing some counselors in to get them through this horrific shooting they had to witness.
