1-year-old girl found shot to death in Flagler County
By Web staff
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PALM COAST, Florida (WESH) — The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office is investigating after a 1-year-old girl was shot in Palm Coast Sunday night.
According to the sheriff’s office, deputies were called to Ranwood Lane around 11:30 p.m.
Upon arrival, they found an 18-month-old girl with a gunshot wound to the head. She was rushed to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Officials said detectives are still gathering evidence and speaking to witnesses, and that the shooting may have been accidental.
At a news conference, Sheriff Rick Staly said cases that involve children this young are particularly hard for first responders.
Eight people were inside the home at the time of the shooting. During the investigation inside the home, the sheriff said they seized marijuana and a white powdery substance they believed to be cocaine or heroin.
One person has been identified as a person of interest, but officials are still investigating. That person of interest was identified as 21-year-old C.J. Nelson, who was arrested for violation of probation.
“We aren’t ruling anyone out in that house, but we do have a primary person of interest,” Staly said. “We will get to the bottom of this and we will hold somebody accountable.”
The struggle for deputies is transparency.
“They’re not telling us everything. I hope that the witnesses come around and cooperate more than they have,” said Staly.
But what the witnesses won’t tell them, the Staly said the evidence and forensics will.
The sheriff added that the child “did not touch the firearm.”
People in the neighborhood said they were shocked to hear about what happened.
“It’s devastating,” said one neighbor. “We moved from the north to get away from this kind of stuff, and we move to this small town in Florida, and to hear that happening in my neighborhood is shocking.”
Several people in the area said they were shocked to see the lights and police outside around midnight.
“This is a family town,” said Sarah Scott, a resident.
“This is a tragic situation, and we offer our condolences to the family and friends of this little girl. This was a young life cut way too short,” said Staly said in a statement. “While God has a new little angel, we will investigate this incident along with the State Attorney’s Office Homicide Investigation Unit until all facts are known. There is no threat to the community. The incident was contained inside this residence and all persons present or involved have been identified.”
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