An armed man killed a woman and barricaded himself inside of a Fort Lauderdale house then set it on fire before coming outside and killing himself in an apparent murder-suicide Thursday night, officials said.
Fort Lauderdale Police officials said the incident began when officers responded to a shooting call around 8:24 p.m. near the intersection of Northwest 27th Terrace and Northwest 17th Street.
When officers arrived they found the armed suspect who barricaded himself inside a nearby home. SWAT and negotiators responded to try to resolve the situation.
Investigators said the already tense situation took a disturbing turn when the house went up in flames and smoke, a fire they believe was set by the suspect.
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Police said about two hours after the incident began, the man came outside the home and shot himself to death. The body of another person, an adult female, was later found inside the home.
The man was later identified by police as 71-year-old Richard Kenneth McDonald. The woman was identified as Gwendolyn Lynette Bass-Kemp, also 71.
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Bass-Kemp had worked for Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue since 2005 as a billing specialist. Neighbors said the two had been dating.
"At this time, this investigation appears to be a murder-suicide but as with any investigation it's ongoing, there's a lot of work to do out here and we're still gonna work to confirm all those details," Fort Lauderdale Police spokesperson Ali Adamson said.
Police said officers didn't exchange gunfire with the suspect but said less lethal munitions were deployed by officers.
Aerial footage Friday morning showed the home nearly burned to the ground. Fort Lauderdale Fire Chief Stephen Gollan said the threat posed by the armed man prevented crews from immediately battling the blaze.
"A very very unique situation here this evening and with the threat that was taking place our firefighters were not able to make entry," he said. "Our fire crews were on standby at a safe distance to make sure the fire did not spread to any of the homes in the surrounding area."
The family of Bass-Kemp released a statement in response to her death.
"With the tragic passing of Gwen, the world has lost a shining light and our family grieves the loss of a daughter, a sister, a mother and a grandmother. Gwen was the very best of all of us. We will miss her contagious smile, her infectious laugh and her endless love for her family. We will continue to celebrate Gwen's life as she would have wanted, and request privacy in doing so at this time"
The incident remains under investigation.
This is a developing story. Check back with NBC6 for updates.
