ORLANDO, Fla. – News 6 has reported at least seven domestic violence situations in Central Florida over the past two days, including the search for an accused abuser in Kissimmee and a man accused of stabbing his estranged girlfriend at a Cocoa bus stop. While this may seem like a lot, organizations against domestic violence say these crimes happen every minute nationwide.
One of the latest alleged cases of domestic violence happened inside a Winter Park home Saturday night. Seminole County deputies said a domestic dispute ended when the wife shot her husband in the chest and wrist. Authorities said he was taken to the hospital and is talking to investigators while his wife is being questioned.
[WEB EXTRA: Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence]
That case marks one of at least seven domestic situations across Central Florida over the weekend: Volusia County deputies say they are investigating an attempted murder-suicide; there was an officer-involved shooting in Casselberry after police responded to a domestic disturbance; Marion County deputies said a man attacked two women with an ax and violated his domestic violence injunction; Cocoa police said a man stabbed his estranged girlfriend at a bus stop, Kissimmee police are searching for a domestic violence suspect; and Flagler County deputies said a Palm Coast woman attacked her ex-boyfriend's current girlfriend.
While this may seem like a lot in one weekend, according to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, it's not.
The organization says that every nine seconds, a woman is assaulted or beaten in the United States, and every minute, 20 people are physically abused by their intimate partners.
The coalition says domestic violence hotlines nationwide receive 20,800 phones calls on a typical day.
Read: One city's success in domestic violence cases prompts closer look at Central Florida
In Florida, there were 107,666 reported cases of domestic violence in 2015 and 66,276 arrests, according to statistics from the FDLE. The top offenders were cohabitants and spouses.
In 2014, the FDLE said law enforcement reported 106,882 domestic violence cases and 66,460 arrests.
But domestic violence organizations warn that we may never know the true extent of abuse and say these numbers may be underrepresented. The NCADV says many victims don't report their abusers to law enforcement or get help due to reasons like shame, fear, or not being able to because of their abuser.
Volusia County deputies are urging domestic violence victims to call the county's 24-hour crisis line at the Volusia Domestic Abuse Council at 800-500-1119.