Friday, December 5, 2008

December 5, 2008

We had a lot of commotion and excitement today in our small town of Plant City, Florida. Too much.
A man shot and killed another guy last night and the police found killer today and they had a car chase. The man then ditched the car at the shopping center and took out his AKA? machine gun and started shooting.
He killed a 58 year old man who was out to the grocery with his grandson. The grandson was not hurt physically but he saw his grandfather get shot in the head out of no where. My heart goes out to that little boy and that man's family. What a senseless tragedy for this family. Breaks my heart.
Another man was seriously injured.
There was an extensive man hunt for quite some time, roads were blocked, and there were helicopters, dogs, and police from neighboring cities as well as ours. Everyone was encouraged to stay in their homes until this man was captured. The schools were all under lock down conditions but the parents were allowed to go to the schools and pick their children up. Finally he was captured and things are returning to normal.
I was in Brandon at the time and Bill called me and said (I know you won’t believe this one), stay out shopping, Judy, there’s a killer loose here and the roads are blocked. The Christmas parade was cancelled that was supposed to have happened today along with other activities. Our small town was under siege and it really was a scary feeling.
Since everything was OK and the man captured, I went ahead with my plans for picking Hanna (Little Sister) up. We went out to eat and went shopping for her Moms ( twin aunts who are raising her),her brother and her grandfather. She will wrap them here next week. I told her she has to keep the gifts a secret but there will be 0 hopes that she will keep that secret. I told her only if she could. I don’t want too much pressure on her.

2 comments:

Mary said...

That definitely is the kind of excitement you don't need. How awful about the 58-year-old grandfather to be killed so senselessly and for the grandson to have seen this. I am glad that the killer was eventually captured. Sad that this man also caused the Christmas parade to be cancelled. Glad that you were able to get together with Hanna!

Victoria said...

Terrifying, Judy! This kind of crime is so freaky - just random and could get any of us. Sad for the dead and wounded, and especially the grandson. Glad you are safe and were able to go through with your plans with Hanna. She is fortunate to have you in her life.