TRINITY, Fla. - A neighbor shot and killed a person who was apparently attacking someone inside a home in Trinity.
Pasco County Sheriff Chirs Nocco said, due to Marcy's Law, which protects the rights of crime victims, he could not release any information that could possibly identify those involved.
The sheriff said three people and "multiple" elementary school-age children were involved in the incident. Two were inside a home - victim 1 and the suspect. A neighbor, called victim 2, was mowing their lawn when the violence began.
The sheriff said victim 1 was being attacked by the suspect inside a home. Victim 2 watched as victim 1 lowered children from a second-story window to save them from the attacking suspect. Victim 1 began screaming for help.
The neighbor, victim 2, rushed over to help victim 1 remove the children from the home, the sheriff said.
The suspect reportedly came out of the house to approach victim 2, who tried to deescalate the situation. The sheriff said the suspect continued to escalate, so victim 2 retreated from the suspect's yard.
This browser does not support the Video element.
That's when the suspect shot at victim 2, Nocco said. Victim 2, the neighbor, was not hit and returned fire, hitting and killing the suspect.
"All indications here, victim 2 was a hero," Sheriff Nocco said. "Victim number 2... was helping another victim, who was a victim of domestic violence, make sure those school children were safe."
Nocco praised the neighbor for standing up for the victims of the attack.