A teenage girl is in critical condition after her stepfather shot her in the head, shortly after he fatally shot her mother in a dispute over a football game, as confirmed by her family.
Jason Kenney, aged 47, tragically took the life of his wife, Crystal Kenney, and injured his 13-year-old stepdaughter before ultimately turning the gun on himself in a violent episode just days before Christmas.
The tragic events unfolded on December 22, following an argument when Crystal expressed her disapproval of her husband’s insistence on watching the NFL game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Indianapolis Colts.
In a fit of rage, Kenney shot Crystal and then turned the weapon on his stepdaughter, firing twice.
According to a GoFundMe page set up by the girl’s family, she has sustained severe injuries but is expected to survive.
Family members also paid homage to Crystal, a mother of three, describing her as “the foundation of her family and the steady presence her three children depended on every day.”
‘Being a mother was not just a role for Crystal — it was who she was,’ the statement read.
‘She loved her children fiercely and unconditionally, always putting their needs before her own.
Crystal Kenney (center) was fatally shot in the head by her husband and her daughter (left) was shot in the shoulder and face
Jason Kenney, 47, shot his wife and daughter on the evening of December 22 after an argument over control of the television escalated
‘From the everyday routines to the big milestones, Crystal was always there — encouraging, comforting, and celebrating her children with pride.
‘Her warmth, patience, and unwavering love shaped their lives in ways that words cannot fully express.’
Sheriff Grady Judd said the rampage unfolded after Kenney had been drinking while watching the game in a shed behind the house.
When Crystal suggested they watch something else as the game was well in hand, the argument suddenly escalated.
As tensions flared she begged her 12-year-old son to run to a neighbor’s house and call 911.
As he ran, the young boy heard gunfire ring out from his home, police said.
When deputies arrived just a few minutes later, they found Crystal dead with a gunshot wound to the head.
They discovered the 13-year-old girl in a bedroom with gunshots to her shoulder and face. The couple’s one-year-old daughter was discovered unharmed in a crib.
‘She said, “I begged him, don’t shoot me, don’t shoot me, don’t shoot me, and he shot me anyway,” Sheriff Judd said, recounting what the girl told him when he spoke to her before a press conference.
The shooting took place just a few days before Christmas
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd described the interior of the home as having ‘a beautiful Christmas tree with lots of Christmas presents under it, just like the nuclear family should be’
Crystal and Kenney also had a one-year-old daughter together who was in the home at the time of the shooting, but the baby was left unharmed
The Sheriff added that the bullet had hit the girl on the bridge of her nose before getting redirected upwards and exiting through the top of her head.
‘That’s a Christmas miracle,’ he said.
After killing his wife and nearly killing his step-daughter, Kenney fled the home and was gone by the time deputies arrived.
As he drove, he called his sister in upstate New York. ‘He told her he had done something very, very bad,’ Judd said, adding that Kenney told her ‘the next time you see me will be on the news.’
Kenney made it to his father’s home before barricading himself in a shed. Deputies tracked him down and attempted to coax him out.
They soon heard a single shot come from the shed. Kenney was found dead inside when the deputies went to investigate.
After searching the family’s home, deputies found a handwritten note by Crystal addressed to her husband.
Kenney posing with a gun while in a pest control company’s uniform
Sheriff Judd said Kenney had been drinking while watching an NFL game when an argument suddenly escalated out of control
Kenney and Crystal had been married for less than two years before the shooting, and by all appearances, they seemed like the perfect couple on social media
Kenney frequently praised Crystal and, before their marriage, shared his excitement about becoming her husband
‘You’re drinking, you’re using cocaine again. This is not the way the family should be. You need God,’ the note read, according to Judd.
The sheriff went on to describe the interior of the home where the awful crime took place. ‘When you go in there, there is a beautiful Christmas tree with lots of Christmas presents under it, just like the nuclear family should be,’ he said.
‘The only thing he did right that night was shoot himself,’ Judd added.
The couple had been married for less than two years before the shooting, and by all appearances, they seemed like the perfect couple on social media.
Kenney frequently praised Crystal and shared his excitement about becoming her husband before they wed.
Other photos included ‘date night with my boo’ and one of them kissing passionately in front of their garage.
But in an ominous post just a few hours before the shooting, Kenney tagged his wife with a love heart emoji in response to a video with the chilling caption: ‘Satan wants your wife. I always tell men if they don’t lead their family, Satan will.’
All three of Crystal’s children are now in the custody of their maternal grandparents.
