A young boy, the boy's father, and a man from Quebec are dead in a bizarre, hostage standoff at a campground in Deerfield Beach, Fla.
The local Broward Sheriff's Office say the incident began Thursday evening when the suspect, William De Jesus, 41, a Florida resident, drove into the Highland Woods RV Park.
In the car were his wife, Deanna De Jesus, and their two children, Jeshiah and Samson. De Jesus and his family got out of the car and went up to a motor home.
Ovila Plante, a La Tuque, Quebec resident, came out of the RV and the two men started arguing. De Jesus pulled out a revolver and shot the 76-year-old in the chest and then again in the head.
De Jesus then pulled his family into the motor home, which was still occupied by Plante's girlfriend, Pierrette Beauchemin, also from Quebec.
Police arrived shortly after and a standoff began with De Jesus holed up inside the RV with the two boys and two women.
"Deputies tried to convince the suspect to release the hostage and surrender peacefully. He refused," the sheriff's office said.
About an hour later, Beauchemin either escaped or was let go; she was unharmed. Police continued to try to negotiate with De Jesus but he failed to respond.
"De Jesus spoke to law enforcement by telephone early on in the ordeal, but then stopped communicating as a stand-off with the BSO SWAT team lasted for hours," the sheriff's office said.
The SWAT team finally entered the vehicle around 12:30 a.m. Friday and found De Jesus and nine-year-old Jeshiah dead. Dianna De Jesusand seven-year-old Samson were badly injured and taken to area hospitals in critical condition.
They are currently listed in serious condition.
"Homicide detectives have determined that De Jesus first stabbed his sons with a knife from the camper's kitchen, then stabbed his wife and himself," the sheriff's office said.
Police are now investigating what led to the incident.
A young boy, the boy's father, and Olivia Laplante from Quebec are dead in a bizarre, hostage standoff at a campground in Deerfield Beach, Fla.
The local Broward Sheriff's Office say the incident began Thursday evening when the suspect, William De Jesus, 41, a Florida resident, drove into the Highland Woods RV Park.
In the car were his wife, Deanna De Jesus, and their two children, Jeshiah and Samson. De Jesus and his family got out of the car and went up to a motor home.
Ovila Plante, a La Tuque, Quebec resident, came out of the RV and the two men started arguing. De Jesus pulled out a revolver and shot the 76-year-old in the chest and then again in the head.
De Jesus then pulled his family into the motor home, which was still occupied by Plante's girlfriend, Pierrette Beauchemin, also from Quebec.
Police arrived shortly after and a standoff began with De Jesus holed up inside the RV with the two boys and two women.
"Deputies tried to convince the suspect to release the hostage and surrender peacefully. He refused," the sheriff's office said.
About an hour later, Beauchemin either escaped or was let go; she was unharmed. Police continued to try to negotiate with De Jesus but he failed to respond.
"De Jesus spoke to law enforcement by telephone early on in the ordeal, but then stopped communicating as a stand-off with the BSO SWAT team lasted for hours," the sheriff's office said.
The SWAT team finally entered the vehicle around 12:30 a.m. Friday and found De Jesus and nine-year-old Jeshiah dead. Dianna De Jesusand seven-year-old Samson were badly injured and taken to area hospitals in critical condition.
They are currently listed in serious condition.
"Homicide detectives have determined that De Jesus first stabbed his sons with a knife from the camper's kitchen, then stabbed his wife and himself," the sheriff's office said.
Police are now investigating what led to the incident
"It's a very bizarre incident and it appears to be totally random," police spokesman Jim Leljedal told The Canadian Press.
Police say the attacker, William De Jesus, drove to the Highland Woods RV Park in Deerfield Beach, Fla., Thursday night from his home in Port Orange, Fla., some 350 kilometres away. His wife and their two children, aged nine and seven, were with him.
Once at the park, police say, De Jesus drove up to the lot where a Quebec couple had parked their RV and got out of his car.
At that point, 76-year-old Ovila Plante, from La Tuque, Que., came to the door of his mobile home and spoke with De Jesus, but police said the two couldn't communicate well because Plante didn't speak much English.
"De Jesus started yelling, Plante pushed him away," Leljedal said. "De Jesus pulled out a gun and shot Mr. Plante once in the chest.
"When Plante went down and hit the ground, De Jesus approached him, walked up and put another bullet in his head, killing him."
With the Canadian lying dead outside the RV, De Jesus then bundled his own family into the mobile home, which was still occupied by Plante's girlfriend.
Quebecer Pierrette Beauchemin, who is in her 70s, managed to flee the RV soon after and ran to authorities who had arrived at the park, police said.
A SWAT team surrounded the mobile home and although De Jesus spoke with police for a short time early on, that communication didn't last long.
After a standoff that lasted nearly seven hours, authorities entered the vehicle early Friday and found De Jesus and his nine-year-old son, Jeshiah, dead.
His wife, Deanna, and seven-year-old son, Samson, were badly injured.
"They'd all been stabbed," said Leljedal. "Apparently (William) De Jesus stabbed his children first, then stabbed his wife and then himself."
Police have spoken to De Jesus' injured wife and son, who are in "serious condition" but are expected to survive.
Authorities believe there was no relationship between De Jesus and the Canadians.
"There's no indication that they knew each other at all, it just appears to be totally random," said Leljedal.
"We're going to try to put together the facts as we know them. But it doesn't appear there's anyone to charge."
Autopsies on the victims were to be conducted later Friday.
The park where the incident took place is located about 30 kilometres north of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and is popular with Canadians, say staff at the facility's office.
"It's a very peaceful park," said Leljedal. "That's what makes this so bizarre."
When contacted at his father's home in La Tuque, Plante's 50-year-old son said he didn't want to talk about the tragedy.
"It's my father," Gerald Plante told The Canadian Press.
"There must be at least 40 people who have called, but we have to keep on working, despite our pain.
"People haven't stopped calling, but we're just asking for a litle bit of respect and to wait a day or two and then we'll talk (about it)."
With a file from The Canadian Press
