Man In Skull Mask Shoots Mother In Front Of 2 Young Children In Pasco

NEW PORT RICHEY, FL — A mother of two was shot and killed in front of her children on Halloween night by a man wearing a skull mask, according to the Pasco County Sheriff's Office.

Deputies responded to a report of a shooting in the Menifee Court area in New Port Richey at 12:40 a.m. after a man wearing a black skull mask forced his way into a home by kicking in a door.

According to Pasco Sheriff Chris Nocco, a woman sleeping on a couch in the living room of the home when she was awakened by someone knocking on the front door. As she got up to see who was at the door, a man kicked it open and walked in.

Nocco said the man pointed the gun at the woman who had been sleeping on the couch. Then he continued to a bedroom, where a mother was sleeping with her two children.

According to the sheriff, the man turned on a light in the bedroom, awakening the woman, who saw a man pointing a gun at her.

Nocco said the mother sat up and said, "Don't shoot me," to the gunman. The intruder ignored her pleas and shot her. She fell to the floor, where the man shot her again.

The man then left the home. Deputies believe he got into a car and sped away.

Nocco said deputies and Pasco County Fire Rescue began administering life-saving aid to the mother before rushing her to the hospital, where she died.

The two children were unharmed.

Nocco said his office is providing mental health counseling to the two children and the woman in the house.

"For these young kids, I can imagine they were out late last night trick-or-treating, I can imagine they went to bed a little later like all the kids did last night, but to be woken up by this, to be woken up to have a suspect walk in, turn the light on and shoot the person in the bed next to them, it's horrific. That's the only word I can think of," Nocco said.

During a 5 a.m. news conference, Nocco said this does not appear to be a random crime. He said the man appears to have known the layout of the house and who his target was.

"It looks like a targeted hit. It seems like he knew who he was going for," Nocco said. "Our prayers are for the family right now, they're going through this tragedy. It's horrific for the victim and for the people who were in the house at the time."

The shooter is described as a man with a heavy build, around 5 feet 10 inches tall. He was wearing dark clothing and a skull mask.

Nocco said detectives are looking into any relationships the woman has had in an attempt to determine who may have wanted her dead.

Anyone with information is urged to call the Pasco sheriff's Crime Tips Line at 1-800-706-2488 or report tips online at PascoSheriff.com/tips.