Police are investigating a murder-suicide inside of a Davie home that claimed the life of a child and her father.
The incident took place inside a home located at the 14600 block of Southwest 18th Court just before 9 a.m.
Davie Police officials told NBC 6 that the father shot his 11-year-old daughter to death before turning the gun on himself. The father later died at the hospital.
Investigators have not released the identity of either victim. Officials said they were told by the girl's mother that the daughter had a terminal illness that may have been a possible motive.
"While we were speaking to the mother we were told that the child has a debilitating terminal illness which is a possibility why this tragic incident occurred," Davie Police Lt. Mark Leone said.
Dr. Kenneth J. Doka, a senior Consultant for the Hospice Foundation of America, suspects the father “may have wanted to take both of them out of their misery.”
Doka has worked in the palliative care field for nearly 50 years and said he’s never seen a case like this.
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“I certainly want to wonder if there were any prior mental health issues because it is so unusual. Most parents of children, even children with a life threatening illness, really make every effort to hold on to their child,” said Doka.
Robin Ahlgren, a licensed clinical social worker, has also worked in hospice. She believes the pandemic has caused many people to feel isolated.
“I don’t know how much he was lacking support because of everything going on with COVID. He may not have had counseling available to him that he may have had in the past. He might not have had access to things like church support and those kind of things,” said Ahlgren.
