PASCO COUNTY, Fla. — A mother and two children are dead after a murder-suicide Wednesday evening, according to the Pasco County Sheriff's Office.
During a press conference Thursday morning, Sheriff Chris Nocco said a young mother, whose identity was not released per Marsy's Law, killed her 3-year-old and 9-month old sons before "turning the gun" and killing herself in the Lake Padgett area of Land O' Lakes just before 6 p.m.
Sgt. Michael Rosa, who joined Sheriff Nocco during the press conference and is part of the Major Crimes Unit, said their office received a 911 call from the father of the children after finding his children and wife dead inside the bedrooms of the home.
Sgt. Rosa added that a dispute may have contributed to the murder-suicide.
"People in relationships have arguments. Some people take it a little harder than others," Sheriff Nocco added. "And instead of reaching out to get help, people make horrific decisions, and it looks like last night somebody made a decision that is beyond horrific."
Per Sheriff Nocco, there was no history of calls to the home and the family had never had an interaction with the Pasco County Sheriff's office before the incident.
"I want to talk about this mental health crisis we are in," Sheriff Nocco said during the press conference. "We've talked about it before, [but] the tragedies that we saw last night emphasize the fact that we have to keep speaking louder and louder and louder until it gets everybody out there to realize that we are in a mental health crisis."
Sheriff Nocco went on to say that 80% of the calls their office receives, they believe, have a mental health component to them.
"As we saw last night, and in too many of these tragedies, law enforcement is only called when a crisis has hit a tragedy, and last night was absolutely a tragedy," said Sheriff Nocco. "This mental healthcare crisis isn’t going away, it’s going to be generational. This is an issue that is going to continue as long as we have social media, as long as we have people fighting with each other, and disagreeing in non-civil formats."
"We have to break the stigma of mental health. We can't just think it's gonna go away. We can't just think that this issue [is only affecting] a few other people. ... We have to stop that. It is not a weakness; being bruised by mental health is not a weakness." — Sheriff Nocco
If you or a loved one is struggling with mental health concerns, help is available and you are not alone. Visit pascosheriff.com/MENTALHEALTH.html for a list of community-based resources in your area.
Watch the full press conference below:
