FLORIDA — A mother and her 4-year-old daughter were shot and killed Tuesday at a condominium complex in Marion County, according to the Ocala Police Department.
Officers responded to a reported shooting at the Marion Springs Condominiums, located at 3525 E. Fort King St. When they arrived, they found 34-year-old Nancy Bacon and her daughter, Eden, suffering from gunshot wounds. Both were pronounced dead.
Witnesses told investigators they saw the woman’s estranged husband, 38-year-old Ralph Bacon, leaving the complex in a dark-colored SUV with North Carolina license plates shortly after the gunshots were heard.
Authorities issued a regionwide alert for the suspect and his vehicle. License plate reader technology tracked the SUV traveling northbound toward the Florida-Georgia border. Law enforcement officers in Kingsland, Georgia, located the vehicle on Interstate 95, about seven miles north of the state line, and attempted a traffic stop.
Police said the suspect shot and killed himself inside the vehicle before officers could approach.
Investigators said the child was not the biological daughter of the suspect. Police described the couple’s relationship as on-again, off-again and said they had recently reconciled around the Christmas holiday. Authorities said they had no prior reports of domestic violence involving the pair locally.
The incident remains under investigation as detectives continue to work with Georgia authorities to gather additional details.
