Florida felon Don Spirit called 911 moments after fatally shooting his daughter and six grandchildren last Thursday — and warned that he would kill himself once authorities arrive. In the chilling call released Tuesday by police, Spirit tells the operator that he “just shot my daughter and shot all my grandkids. And I’ll be sitting on my steps, and when you get here, I’m going to shoot myself.” Spirit, 51, made the call around 4 p.m. after the children arrived from school. Once Gilchrist County Sheriff’s deputies arrived at the home in Bell, they spotted Spirit and made “verbal contact” with him.
“After a brief verbal exchange, the suspect sustained a self-inflicted gunshot which resulted in his death,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement Tuesday. “As of this time, no clear or definitive motive can be determined.”
Police said Spirit used a .45-caliber handgun on himself after shooting his daughter, Sarah Lorraine Spirit, and her six children, ages 10 weeks old to 11. Spirit had a lengthy criminal record that dated back 22 years, and included serving three years in prison for pleading guilty to accidentally shooting and killing his 8-year-old son in 2001. Both he and his daughter have been the subject of child abuse allegations, according to state child welfare officials. The two men who fathered the children are both incarcerated.
In the 911 call, Spirit sounds calm, but adamant that he would end his life. He gave no explanation for the slayings that have rocked the small town: “I’m done with every (expletive) thing. … All the kids are dead in the house.” Final autopsies will not be completed for several weeks, deputies said.
IN-DEPTH
- Don Spirit Kills Daughter, Six Grandchildren in Bell, Florida
- Siblings in Florida Murder-Suicide Remembered as 'Happy-Go-Lucky'
