In a serene Southeast Cape Coral neighborhood near Viscaya Parkway and Del Prado, the tranquility of the morning was shattered by a tragic event.
“I thought I heard what sounded like an exhaust from a vehicle backfire or motorcycle,” recounted Phil Brownson, a witness and retired Navy veteran, who had just arrived at his cousins’ driveway when the gunfire erupted.
As Brownson processed the scene unfolding before him, he witnessed the harrowing sight of police and others attempting chest compressions on a woman nearby.
“My initial thought was holy, you know, does he need help?” Brownson recalled.
According to the Cape Coral Police Department, multiple distress calls flooded in just before 9:30 Wednesday morning, describing a disturbing scenario witnessed by several callers. A man, in the process of picking up his two children, allegedly shot and killed a woman before absconding with the kids.
Subsequently, he stopped to speak with firefighters, relinquished custody of the children to them, and drove away.
“Officers and firefighters also tried to talk to him there, figure out what was going on, and during the interaction, that’s when he shot himself and the car rolled into the canal,” explained Mercedes Phillips, spokesperson for the Cape Coral Police Department.
Neighbors, including Hal Franke from SE 12th Terrace, revealed that they too heard the gunshot and expressed deep concern for the well-being of the children involved.
“The first thing my neighbors and I said was that we feel for the kids more than everybody else,” Franke stated.
The Cape Coral Police Department confirmed that the children are now under the care of extended family members.
