Family shot in head in targeted attack at Florida home, sheriff says

LAND O’LAKES, Fla. (WFLA) – A child and two adults were wounded in a home-invasion-turned-shooting in Land O’Lakes, Florida on Friday, authorities say.

Deputies were called to the Lake Padgett area at around 5 a.m., according to the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office.

Sheriff Chris Nocco said a 60-year-old man, a 38-year-old woman, and her 6-year-old daughter were all shot in the head in a targeted attack.

“They’re in critical condition right now,” Nocco said. “The family is going through a lot.”

According to Nocco, the 60-year-old man arrived at his home at about 4:40 a.m. to find four people outside. He and the four people got into an altercation that ended with him being shot in the head, but he survived, the sheriff said.

The sheriff’s office said the four people went into the home to search for the child’s father.

Nocco said the home invaders entered the master bedroom and found his girlfriend and daughter instead, but shot them both in the head anyway.

“How evil must you be that you’re shooting innocent people in their bed while they’re sleeping … and to shoot a 6-year-old?” he said. “That 6-year-old had nothing to do with anything. That 6-year-old was probably going to wake up, go to school, you know, do a normal kid’s routine, be excited for the weekend, but now, she’s fighting for life because people who are just evil don’t care about life.”

Nocco said the actual target of the attack arrived shortly after deputies got to the scene.

Preliminary information suggested that the home invasion was related to an altercation at an “adult establishment in Tampa” and a road rage incident last week that involved the child’s father.

No arrests have been made as of Friday evening. Nocco asks anyone with any doorbell camera video or information on the shooting to come forward to help them catch the people responsible.

“If they’re willing to do that to [the family], what other acts of violence are they willing to do out there?” Nocco added.