MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – A man died Monday afternoon after police said he fatally shot his wife and then turned the gun on himself.
Police said the incident began at 7 a.m. Monday, when Patricia Hepburn, 46, stopped by the home of her estranged husband, 43-year-old Ronnie Hepburn, to pick up her daughter's book bag. Ronnie Hepburn confronted her, shot her and then shot himself, police said.
The couple's 13-year-old daughter was there, too, but police said Ronnie Hepburn sent her outside before pulling the trigger.
The shootings happened across the street from Scott Lake Elementary School, where the couple's son was already in class. Students were unaware of the violence across the street, but teachers stood shocked, holding each other.
Friends said that in the Hepburns' 12-year marriage, there was never any sign of trouble. When asked whether Patricia Hepburn had ever mentioned violence involving her husband, a friend said "never."
The two children were staying with relatives Monday night.
The father's organs were donated to a transplant recipient.