Left: Bles’Syn Lightner (Buggs Funeral Home). Right: Clifford Long (Brevard County Jail).
A tragic incident unfolded in Florida as a 37-year-old man allegedly broke into a family home and fatally shot a 2-year-old girl, while also injuring her grandparents.
Clifford Long has been charged with first-degree murder for the death of Bles’Syn Lightner, in addition to two counts of attempted murder. The Melbourne police detailed in a probable cause affidavit that officers were called to a residence on Poplar Lane at around 10:40 p.m. on August 29 following reports of a shooting.
Upon their arrival, law enforcement found a 48-year-old woman and a 54-year-old man with serious gunshot wounds, though they were still conscious. Tragically, officers also discovered young Bles’Syn in a bedroom with a gunshot wound to her forehead, and she was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.
At the time of the incident, four other adults and two children were present in the home, but they escaped injury. Bles’Syn had only recently celebrated her birthday four days earlier. She resided in the home with her parents, who were attending a concert during the shooting, and her grandparents. Police noted there were no signs of forced entry, and initially, the victims claimed not to recognize the assailant.
However, in further interviews, the male victim identified the shooter as Clifford Long, known by the nickname “Goof.”
Investigators highlighted that Long’s physical appearance matched the description provided by the victim, identifying him as a tall, thin, light-skinned Black male with a head shape “like a football.”
The surviving male said he saw Long shooting his granddaughter before he stepped over the girl’s body and started firing at him, according to the affidavit.
Long later allegedly admitted to his brother that he killed the girl, saying “They wouldn’t come off that money,” indicating that the possible motive for the shooting was related to a robbery or drugs. He also allegedly told his brother that he didn’t mean to kill Bles’Syn.
About a week after the shooting, Long and his brother allegedly stabbed a homeless man over 30 times and chopped off his finger with a machete over a drug-related dispute.
When interviewed by cops about the alleged murder, he denied involvement and claimed he was at a gas station at the time of the crime. He said he knew Bles’Syn’s father but did not know the family very well, though he heard about what happened.
“To be honest with you, I didn’t shed a tear but my condolences to the family,” he said, per cops.
Long has been in the Brevard County Jail for the machete attack since September. He remains behind bars without bond. His next court date is set for May 20.
