Multiple 911 calls from injured child lead to 3 bodies in rural home, Florida cops say

A child’s pleas for help in the middle of the night led deputies to the scene of multiple killings in a North Florida home, investigators say.

Three bodies were found, along with an injured 11-year-old and a bloody man believed to be the killer, the Bradford County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

Identities of the victims have not been released. The dead include “a mother and her two adult daughters,” WJAX reports. The injured child, a girl, “belonged to one of the adult daughters,” the station says.

It happened early Tuesday, March 12, at a mobile home in the Lawtey area, about a 40-mile drive southwest from Jacksonville.

“At approximately 2 a.m. the Bradford County Sheriff’s Office received multiple phone calls from a child in reference to a domestic incident,” the sheriff’s office said.

“Upon arrival deputies found a 46-year-old male ... walking in the front yard with several cuts on his body. Further search of the area located three females inside the residence with multiple gunshot wounds. All three females were dead upon arrival.”

The 11-year-old who called 911 was found suffering from “a non-life-threatening injury,” officials said.

The child and the suspect were taken to a hospital, officials said.

A motive in the killings remains under investigation and detectives have not said whether the suspect lives at the home.

This story was originally published March 12, 2024 at 7:02 AM with the headline "Multiple 911 calls from injured child lead to 3 bodies in rural home, Florida cops say."