3 dead, 2 critical in Deerfield Beach hostage situation

1 child found dead inside RV, 2 people sent to hospital in critical condition

DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla. ā€“ Police said the suspected gunman in a hostage situation in Deerfield Beach has been found dead inside the recreational vehicle where he had barricaded himself and attempted to kill his family.

The Broward Sheriff's Office SWAT found the man's body, along with the body of a 9-year-old boy, early Friday morning.

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A woman was sent to North Broward Medical Center in critical condition. Another boy, 7, was transported to Broward General, also in critical condition.

Their names, along with the names of the suspect and deceased child, have not yet been released.

Deputies were called to the RV park on Northeast 48th Street at about 6 p.m. after a man was found with a gunshot wound outside the RV.

A man inside the RV told deputies he was holding a woman hostage and would kill her if they approached.

Deputies were unable to reach the injured man and tried to convince the suspect to release his hostage.

SWAT paramedics were eventually able to move the shooting victim away from the RV, but the injured man died at the scene.

Around 7:30 p.m., the gunman allowed a woman to leave the RV. She was unharmed and told detectives the suspect's wife and two sons were in the RV with him.

The gunman was not making any demands, but deputies said he threatened to shoot officers and the hostages.

"He is still refusing to come out. He is still making threats," said Dani Moschella with Broward Sheriff's Office late Thursday.

At 11 p.m., hostage negotiators were talking to the gunman and trying to convince him to release his other hostages.

Northeast 48th Street was closed from Dixie Highway to Northeast 3rd Avenue.

People in the neighboring mobile home park were on lockdown. Residents of Highlands Woods were asked to stay in their homes.

"A sniper came along the wall. And then he's like, 'What are you doing?' 'I'm just watching.' And he's like, 'You shouldn't be here -- you're in the line of fire,'" said witness Victor Fernandez.

The SWAT Team, along with the Coral Springs Police Department's SWAT Team, entered the RV around 1:30 a.m. Friday and discovered the victims.

The entire ordeal lasted more than 7 hours. Detectives are still investigating the circumstances that led to the attacks.

According to witnesses, the woman and her two children were down from Quebec with her parents, visiting the Highland woods RV Park. The woman's ex-husband heard they were here, showed up and got into a fight with his ex.

Witnesses say her father stepped in to break up the fight. That's when the suspect allegedly shot the man and barricaded himself inside the RV with his two children and ex-wife. He later shot and killed his 9-year-old son and critically hurt his 7-year-old son and ex-wife.