PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. — A 34-year-old man fatally shot a woman and three young children and injured another child before attempting to kill himself inside their apartment, authorities in South Florida said Friday.
The woman and three of her children were pronounced dead on Wednesday night inside their apartment in Pembroke Park, Broward Sheriff's Office spokesperson Claudinne Caro said Thursday.
Stephen McKenzie, 34, and 8-year-old Phiinyx Solomon survived. McKenzie was in critical condition on Thursday and the child remained in serious condition, she said.
The dead included Julie Cruz, 32, Xion Solomon, 11, and 2-year-olds Nova and Emery McKenzie, Caro said.
Caro said Cruz was the mother of all four children, and McKenzie is the father of the 2-year-olds. The two older children have a different father.
McKenzie was placed in custody at the hospital, and charges against him are pending, Caro said.
Sheriff's detectives are investigating what led to the shooting, she said.
A neighbor, Richard Rainey, who lives on the same floor of the apartment building, told the South Florida SunSentinel he saw McKenzie and the 8-year-old girl heading into the laundry room about 45 minutes before the shooting. He said spoke briefly to McKenzie.
“He didn’t seem upset or anything,” Rainey told the newspaper.
