The man accused in the Pembroke Park shooting that left a mother and her three sons dead, and her daughter injured, has died, according to the Broward Sheriff’s Office.
Stephen McKenzie, 34, who turned the gun on himself after shooting Julia Cruz, 32, and the children, two of whom were his, died on Thursday, March 27, the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
The shooting
The shooting happened Wednesday, March 26, at the Sundrift apartment building on West Hallandale Beach Boulevard shortly after 7:30 p.m.
When Pembroke Park police arrived, they found the bodies of Cruz, 2-year-old twins Nova and Emery McKenzie and 11-year-old Xion Solomon in unit 408.
McKenzie was found critically injured and 8-year-old Phiinyx Solomon was suffering from gunshot wounds.
McKenzie was taken to HCA Florida Aventura Hospital, while Phiinyx was rushed to Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital, where she remains in serious condition.
Boy died trying to protect his mother, sister
Rita Hanson, Xion’s grandmother, said he tried to shield his mother and sister during the shooting.
“He was really special and he was a good kid. He’s always protective of everybody, all his brothers, all his sisters,” she said. “He was just doing what Xion does, just trying to, you know, just be the protector that he is.”
“He was a hero and I want everyone to know he was a hero. He died protecting his mom and his sister,” Xion’s father Kelvin Solomon said.
Solomon acknowledged that he was aware of difficulties at home between Cruz and her partner McKenzie.
A relative of Cruz told CBS News Miami that she had been trying to leave McKenzie.
The Broward Sheriff’s Office has not yet determined what triggered the shooting.
