NASSAU COUNTY, Fla. – A 34-year-old man shot and killed three women in a Hilliard home before shooting himself Thursday night, according to the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office.
Nassau County Sheriff Bill Leeper shared details about the case which he called “tragic” and “heartbreaking” during a Friday morning news conference.
Watch the full conference below.
Leeper said the shooting happened around 8 p.m. inside a home on West 12th Avenue.
Leeper said deputies were told that a 5-year-old girl walked from her home to a neighbor’s home and told them Christopher Rowell had killed three women in a home.
Deputies entered the home and, while searching the house, they noticed a woman lying in blood in between the living room and dining room.
While rendering aid to the woman, deputies then saw Rowell lying in a puddle of blood with a gunshot wound to his head and an SKS-style rifle lying beside him. Deputies said he still had a slight pulse.
They searched the rest of the home and found a dead woman in the bathroom and another dead woman in the bedroom.
Leeper said the women were all related in some way, but did not disclose their relationships.
The victims are Marissa Leara Rowell, 32, Sandra Gayle Fogarty, 71, and Alisha Lael Fogarty, 33.
Rowell was airlifted to a nearby hospital, where he is in critical condition, Leeper said.
The 5-year-old was not injured, and she is now safe with other relatives, Leeper said.
“The 5-year-old was in shock, naturally, and she’s a very strong little girl, beautiful girl,” Leeper said.
Laurence Duster, a neighbor, said he saw the moments when deputies into the home.
“We’re just shaken up knowing that happened so close,” Duster said. “It’s just crazy and having kids. That’s really the big part for me, having the kids so close.”
Leeper said deputies are still investigating the shooting and will release more details at a later time.
“She’s certainly been through a traumatic experience that no child should go through,” Leeper said. “We just need to pray for her. She’s gonna need a lot of love, and a support, and a lot of help within the next few years, I would just ask that you just pray for her.”
