‘Don’t shoot me’: Woman killed by masked man in front of children

NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. — Police are searching for the gunman accused of killing a mother in front of her children in what detectives described as a “targeted” attack.

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Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco said in a news conference that a masked man knocked on the door of a New Port Richey home sometime after 12:30 a.m. Tuesday, waking a woman who was sleeping on the couch. As the woman got up, the man kicked in the door and pointed a gun at her.

Detectives said the man then went into a bedroom, where the victim was asleep with two children. The suspect turned on a light in the room, prompting the woman to wake and sit up.

“The light comes on, she sees the suspect walk into the door,” Nocco said. “She sits up. As she sits up, she says, ‘Don’t shoot me.’ The suspect then fires one round at her. She falls off the bed. He fires another round directly at her, striking her.”

The children, identified only as being under age 12, were not injured, WFTV reported.

Nocco said he did not know whether the shooting was domestic-related, but said the victim was clearly targeted, The Associated Press reported. Detectives also noted that the suspect appeared to know the layout of the victim’s home.

“For those young kids, I can imagine they were out last night trick-or treating and I can imagine they went to bed a little later, like all the kids did last night,” Nocco said. “But to be woken up, to have a suspect walk in, turn that light on, and shoot the person who was in bed with them, that’s horrific. That’s the only word I can think of.”

Nocco said that mental health counselors are working with the children and the other woman who was in the house.

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