Pasco Home Invaders Shoot Mother, 6-Year-Old In Head In Their Beds

LAND O' LAKES, FL — Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco is pleading with the public to help get four men off the street after they broke into a home in the Lake Padgett neighborhood and shot a 38-year-old mother and her 6-year-old daughter in the head while they lay in bed asleep.

During a news conference Friday, Nocco said it was a heartless crime and the shooters must be apprehended before they hurt anyone else.

"It just breaks your heart. 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; that 6-year-old had nothing to do with anything," said Nocco. "Now she's fighting for her life. That's the thing. We live in a society now where the respect for life is almost gone."

Nocco said the bold, cold-blooded shootings that occurred early Friday morning point to how dangerous the four home invaders are.

"We need any information we can get," he said "What we want to do is apprehend these people as quickly as possible because, if they're willing to go in and shoot these innocent people while they're sleeping in the bed, who knows what else they're willing to do? Those people need to be taken off the street."

Nocco said detectives believe the Lake Padgett family was targeted by the four men. The previous week, the homeowner got into an argument with some men at an adult nightclub in Tampa that later led to a road rage incident.

"We believe there is a correlation between that event and what occurred this morning," Nocco said.

On Friday around 4:40 a.m., the homeowner's 60-year-old father arrived at the house in Lake Padgett where he encountered four men outside the home. The men got into a confrontation with the 60-year-old who was shot in the head.

The men then forced their way into the home, yelling for the homeowner, who wasn't home at the time, to show himself.

When they were unable to find the homeowner, they burst into the master bedroom where the homeowner's 38-year-old girlfriend and 6-year-old daughter were sleeping and shot them both in the head.

The four men then fled and the 60-year-old man called 911 for help.

Deputies arrived and were able to get some preliminary information from the 60-year-old man before all three people were rushed to the hospital in critical condition.

Nocco said the homeowner arrived home shortly after deputies responded and told them about the confrontation the week before.

The sheriff has victim advocates and chaplains in the Lake Padgett area to speak to residents who feel traumatized by the crime that took place in family-oriented neighborhood.

"Please, go out and talk to them because I know it's nerve-wracking," he told residents.

He also asked that any residents with surveillance cameras check the video feed to see if they caught any of the crime on camera. He also anyone who was outside during those early hours, perhaps walking a dog, to call the sheriff's office if they witnessed anything.

Those with information can call the PSO Crime Tips Line at 1-800-706-2488.