Plant City woke up to a nightmare on Sunday, after an early-morning rampage left four family members dead and one small child miraculously unharmed, according to authorities. Police say officers responding to reports of a disturbance discovered victims at two separate locations, with the dead including two young children, their mother, and their grandmother.
According to Tampa Bay 28, officers first went to the 300 block of West Tever Street, where they found a 4-month-old and a 4-year-old with gunshot wounds, along with their 28-year-old mother. She was rushed to a hospital but was later pronounced dead, police said. At a second scene in the 900 block of North Burton Street, officers discovered the children's 55-year-old grandmother, who had also been shot and killed.
Detectives said another child at the West Tever Street scene was unharmed. Investigators noted that some people had traveled on foot between the two addresses in the early-morning hours, a detail they hope nearby cameras might help clarify.
Police Seek Doorbell And Surveillance Video
Plant City detectives are now banking on neighborhood technology to help fill in the gaps. They urged residents and businesses to check any surveillance or doorbell camera footage taken between 5:30 a.m. and 7 a.m. on Sunday for images of a woman walking with three young children in the area of North Burton and West Tever streets.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Plant City Police tip line at 813-763-3316. The department’s public contact details are also available through the city’s police page, according to the Plant City Police Department. Officials described the probe as active and ongoing and have not announced any arrests or identified any suspects.
Violence Has Touched The Area Before
While Sunday’s killings are especially harrowing, they are not the first burst of serious violence to rattle Plant City this year. In March, a pre-dawn ramp shooting turned an I-4 entrance into a crime scene, drawing fresh attention to overnight and early-morning incidents in and around the city.
Neighbors and local leaders have voiced growing concern about that pattern of early-hour violence, and detectives say renewed public tips and video could be crucial to establishing a clear timeline and potential motive in the latest case. The department reiterated that the investigation remains open and again urged anyone with information, no matter how small it might seem, to come forward.
