BROOKSVILLE, Fla. (WFLA) – A 16-year-old girl who loved animals was among the victims shot and killed Tuesday night at a home in Brooksville.
Hernando County Sheriff Al Nienhuis said Brene Marshall, 16, and her mother Taneta Morrell were shot and killed at a home in the 2700 block of Azen Loop in the Hill n’ Dale subdivision. A third person, Adolphus Washington was also shot in the home. He was airlifted to a local hospital.
One man is in custody. Sheriff Nienhuis has not released the man’s name.
Nienhuis said detectives do not yet know if the suspect and the victims knew each other. They have not established a motive.
Nienhus said the crime was very violent and there was violence that went above and beyond a shooting, but he did not release specific details about what happened.
He said that victim Brene Marshall would have celebrated her 17th birthday soon and she had asked her Facebook friends to donate to a local animal shelter instead of giving her presents.
The Hernando County School District says she was in 11th grade. They released this statement:
We are saddened to share the news that today Hernando High School is grieving the loss of one of their students, Miss Brene’ Marshall.A Care Team is on site and is providing grief counseling and support to students and staff.Our thoughts are with the Hernando High School family, and all those who knew Brene’, as you grieve and heal in the coming days.”
Multiple agencies responded to the Hill n’ Dale subdivision off State Road 50 following reports of shots fired around 9:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
Hernando County Sheriff Al Nienhuis said deputies found the suspect in a vacant home less than a mile from the shooting scene.
“It was a combination of several things. We got information from citizens in the area that was an individual running. K9 also tracked and our air unit saw this person go into the house and not come out,” he said.
While multiple agencies worked to make contact with the suspect, residents were told to remain inside their homes and call 911 to report suspicious activity.
More than five hours after being called to the scene, a swat team went into the vacant home, located the suspect and took him into custody.
“We have a strong person of interest in custody. We believe there was only one shooter, so I would say people can rest easy, and that we have the person in custody,” said Sheriff Nienhuis.Follow Amanda Ciavarri on Facebook
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