Nassau County Sheriff Bill Leeper said a five-year-old child ran to a neighbor after the shooting, who then called police.
YULEE, Fla. — Three women lost their lives, and the individual responsible is on life support following a domestic violence incident in a Hilliard residence Thursday evening, as reported by Nassau County Sheriff Bill Leeper.
Leeper said deputies responded to a shooting call to the house on West 12th Street in Hilliard around 8 p.m. Thursday.
Deputies heard no sound from inside the house, according to Leeper, and entered through the unlocked front door.
Upon arrival, authorities discovered a woman lying in blood in the dining area, according to Leeper. When deputies proceeded to search the premises, they came across a man in the living room, also in a pool of blood, next to what Leeper described as a black SKS-style assault rifle.
Deputies continued their search, finding a woman lying in a bathroom, and another woman lying in a bedroom.
Leeper explained that all three women were found “obviously deceased,” while the man, who still had a pulse but had sustained a head gunshot wound, was transported by air to a nearby hospital. There, Leeper mentioned, he is considered “clinically deceased” as organ donation is being awaited.
According to Leeper, investigators gathered the shooter, identified as 34-year-old Christopher Bobby Rowell, first shot the woman found in the dining room, then shot the woman in the bathroom, before shooting the woman in the bedroom of the home.
Rowell then moved to the living room and shot himself in the head, Leeper said.
Five-year-old girl’s harrowing ordeal
Leeper said a five year old girl was in the home at the time of the shooting.
Deputies said she heard a gunshot, moving down the hallway to investigate when she found the woman lying in the dining room.
Leeper said another woman grabbed the girl and ran to the bathroom to shelter with her. That’s when that woman was shot.
According to Leeper, the girl managed to escape the house, running to a neighbor and banging on their door, telling them about the shooting.
The neighbor then called 911, Leeper said.
“[She is a] very strong, brave, beautiful girl,” Leeper said of the girl. “She is with other relatives and is safe…She’s certainly been through a traumatic experience that you want no child to go through.”
“We just pray for her, she’s going to need a lot of love, a lot of support, and a lot of help in the next few years,” Leeper said.
The sheriff said investigators have determined the shooting was a domestic violence incident, but did not disclose the relationship between the shooter and the victims, wanting to protect the privacy of the girl. He said investigators are still working to learn the circumstances leading to the shooting.
“If you look at a positive with something like this, this tragic, it’s that the child was not injured, thank God,” Leeper said. “And the shooter had the courage to shoot himself.”
