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Police: Man kills himself after shooting 17-year-old boy, woman inside Palm Bay home

'Shelter in place' order lifted at Port Malabar Elementary School

PALM BAY, Fla. – Police said a man shot and killed himself after shooting a 17-year-old boy and a woman inside a Palm Bay home Thursday morning.

Palm Bay police officials said they believed the incident was a domestic-violence related shooting at the home in the 1600 block Fallon Boulevard Northeast near Babcock Street, News 6 partner Florida Today reported.

Chief Nelson Moya said the 17-year-old called police about 7:10  a.m. to report a shooting.

"He said his Uncle shot him in the leg," a 911 caller told dispatcher.

Then the shooter called 911 shortly after to say he planned to commit suicide.

The boy and woman were taken to nearby hospitals and were in stable condition, Moya said.

Palm Bay police said the scene was secure about an hour after Robert Franklin Jr. barricaded himself inside the home Thursday morning.

"Everything that we can tell shows it was contained to the house," Moya said.

According to police, officers are now performing interviews and processing the crime scene, which could take hours, before they would be ready to release more information.

SWAT team members, along with police and fire personnel, also responded to the scene.

The home is a few blocks away from Port Malabar Elementary School.

The school was placed briefly on lockdown shortly after the incident occurred, sometime between 7:40 and 8 a.m., according to Nicki Hensley, a spokeswoman for Brevard Public Schools.

The shooting happened during student arrival, Hensley said. Police ushered students into the school, while some parents still waiting to drop off their children were told to stay put in their cars.

Tykes Jenkins was walking her daughter to school about 7:40 a.m. when she heard gunshots. She said she grabbed her daughter and ran immediately to the school.

Classes resumed after 8 a.m., although staff and students were told to shelter in place. The status was lifted and normal school operations resumed shortly before 8:30 a.m., Hensley said.

The incident also affected some buses at Stone Middle School, she said.


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