SANFORD, Fla. — A 31-year-old man shot six people, including one fatally, early Monday in two separate shootings in a Sanford neighborhood, the Sanford Police Department said.
The first shooting was reported shortly before 6:30 a.m. at a home on Hays Drive, Sanford police spokesman Bianca Gillett said.
Allen Cashe fatally shot his ex-girlfriend, LaTina Herring, 35, and critically wounded her father and her two sons, Brendon and Brandon Christian, ages 7 and 8, Gillett said.
Cashe was led away in handcuffs outside the Sanford police station Monday afternoon.
Watch Sanford police's news conference on the shooting below:
Herring told police Cashe had the keys to her home and refused to give them back. While speaking to Herring, police received a 911 call from Cashe stating that Herring had the keys to his vehicle. The victim returned the keys to Cashe, and both parties left the gas station separately.
Police said they later received a 911 call about the former couple getting into a second argument over property, this time at the home. The call was reported as an aggravated battery.
The officer went to the home and was able to settle the argument once more, Gillett said.
Officers arrived at the home, and found the victim and Cashe fighting in the front yard, arguing over Cashe returning the victim’s keys. Cashe and his vehicle were searched for weapons, and no weapons were found.
The keys to the home were also not found on Cashe or in his vehicle, but were located inside the home.
Cashe then collected some of his clothing and was preparing to the leave the home. The victim brought out a bag, saying it was filled with more of Cashe’s belongings. Cashe refused to take the bag and left the residence.
The victim asked if officers would take the bag with Cashe’s belongings and hold it for safekeeping.
Inside the bag, officers found a Glock 22 handgun and ammunition.
Soon after that, police said the received another 911 call from someone reporting that Herring, her father and her children had been shot.
A nearby resident, Althea Wallace, said she saw Herring’s father, Bertis Gerard Herring Jr., come out of the house screaming for help.
“I stood there and called 911. My boyfriend put his cellphone on Bert and we actually saw everything that happened to Bert,” she said. “It looked like (there was) an excessive amount of blood and I can’t even believe Bert made it out of the house as bad as he was.”
Watch footage of the shooting scene below:
Police said Cashe drove away from the scene and randomly shot two bystanders at West 24th Street and South Marshall Avenue -- Lazaro Paredesquelite, who was walking, and Rakeya Jackson, 18, who was waiting at a bus stop. Both are in stable condition.
Gillett said Jackson is a student at Winter Springs High School.
"This scene is one of the worst scenes our investigators and officers have ever responded to," Gillett said.
See the shooting scene from Skywitness 9:
A police officer who was in the area heard the gunfire and was able chase Cashe to the nearby Seminole Gardens apartment complex.
An AK-47 rifle was found in Cashe's vehicle.
"What a travesty that happened here today," neighbor Arlene Bush said. "These little boys didn't ask for this."
Detectives interviewed Cashe and booked him into the John E. Polk Correctional Facility on multiple homicide-related charges.
“Understanding senseless and violent incidents such as this, is never easy and will often never make sense,” said Chief Cecil Smith in a press release. “A mother has lost her life, and three others, including two young boys, remain fighting for their lives. Two others were shot as they started their day, including a high school student just waiting for her school bus to come.”
Resident Arlene Bush said her children would often play with Brendon and Brandon.
“It’s just so sad, so shocking that this could happen in our own little neighborhood,” Bush said.
Cashe has a criminal history that dates back 12 years.
He's been arrested for armed robbery, but was never prosecuted.
The drug possession and domestic violence charges either resulted in no contest pleas, or the cases never made it to trial.
“Part of the issues that come into place is that we have so many victims. Especially victims of domestic violence, who will not prosecute,” said Smith.
Most recently, Cashe was out on probation after he pled adjudicated guilty to charges of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
According to the clerk's website, he violated probation and was set for a hearing on the original charge next month.
Cox Media Group
