‘Targeted hit’ kills woman sleeping in bed next to 2 children, Florida deputies say

A man wearing a “black skull mask” broke into a Florida home in the middle of the night and shot a woman twice as she sat in bed with two sleeping children, according to the Pasco Sheriff’s Office.

Investigators are calling it a “targeted hit” and have not released an identity for the victim.

The shooting occurred around 12:40 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 1, at a home on Menifee Court in New Port Richey, the sheriff’s office said in a news release. New Port Richey is about 35 miles northwest of Tampa.

Two women were in the home at the time, one of whom was sleeping on the couch when a masked man knocked at the door and then kicked it in, Sheriff Chris Nocco said at a press conference.

“The suspect walks in. He points the gun directly at her, then he keeps moving towards the bedroom,” Nocco said, noting the man did not speak at any time.

“The victim was laying in bed with two young children. ... The light comes on, she sees the suspect walk in the door. The suspect points a gun directly at her, she sits up. As she sits up, she says, ‘Don’t shoot me.’ The suspect then fires one round at her, she falls off the bed. He fires another round directly at her, striking her.”

The man then walked out and is believed to have fled the neighborhood in a car, officials said.

First responders performed life-saving measures on the woman, but she died after being taken to a hospital.

Investigators believe the suspect “knew exactly what he was doing,” and the killing was not a random act. However, it remains unclear if he personally knew the victim, officials said.

“It appears that the suspect knew the layout of the home and who his intended victim was,” officials said.

He was described as having “a heavy build, around (5-10), wearing dark clothing and a black skull-type mask.”

The two children are under age 12, Nocco said. Their relationship to the victim was not revealed.

“I can imagine (the children) were out last night trick-or-treating. I can imagine they went to bed a little bit later like all the kids last night,” Nocco said at the press conference.

“But to be woken up by this ... to have a suspect walk in, turn that light on and shoot the person in the bed with them, you know. It’s horrific. That’s the only word I can think of.”

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