Members of a local S.W.A.T. team managed to rescue the children through a bedroom window.
A Florida father is believed to have killed his wife and mother-in-law before committing suicide late last week while his three children were in the family home, authorities say.
Deputies with the Broward Sheriff’s Office said they were called to a private residence in Tamarac, Florida early Saturday in response to reports of a shooting. After they arrived at the scene they quickly blocked off the area, the office said in a news release issued on Sunday. Deputies quickly located three children — ages four, eight, and 11 — in a bedroom in the home and ushered them out through a window.
Members of the BSO Special Weapons and Tactics team found Clody Sylverne, 39, and a 38-year-old female adult dead inside the home. A second 65 years old woman in grave condition was airlifted to a nearby hospital where she was pronounced dead.
The 38-year-old victim has since been identified as Clody Sylverne’s wife, Benouchka Sylverne. The second victim was her mother, the Miami Herald reported. Privacy laws have prevented her name from being released by authorities.
The Sylvernes had purchased the home in 2015 and had no history of restraining orders or arrests, according to the Herald.
Following the shooting, the three children were taken to a safe location. They are now in the care of relatives, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports.
Jimmy Christophonte told local station WPLG that Clody Sylverne was his best friend and that he was heartbroken to learn of what happened.
“He is a great guy. He is my brother, you know. We always hang out together and he’s very nice. That was my best friend, so I lost him. I can’t believe that,” Christophonte said.
Martin Slater, a neighbor of the Sylvernes, told the Sun-Sentinel that the Sylvernes were a quiet, peaceful family. Clody Sylverne was a mechanic and Benouchka Sylverne was “very friendly,” Slater said. He never heard the pair arguing, he added.
“He [Sylverne] would take the kids out on the bicycles on the weekend, up and down the street,” Slater said.
Slater told the Sun-Sentinel that at around 7 a.m. on the morning of the presumed murder-suicide he heard two gunshots. Police then arrived and instructed him to go back inside his house, he said.
Authorities did not identify who called 911 and did not state if a motive has been identified. The investigation is ongoing.
by SHARON LYNN PRUITT
