He also carried more ammunition in a bag and dumped additional magazines on the stairway and in the corridors along the way. The gunman was wearing a chest rig with seven magazines of ammunition, the police commissioner said. 'It doesn't take long to burn through a magazine' McGhee used his belt to stop the bleeding. "When I first saw him, I saw a massive hole in his pant leg, and all I could think of was, 'My God, what did he get shot with?'" he said. He hid in a bathroom, not knowing his own 16-year-old son had been shot. The school's Dean of Arts Manfret McGhee ran for his life after a bullet missed him in a hallway, he told KSDK. The avid dancer was less than a month away from celebrating her Sweet 16. The 61-year-old died trying to shield her students from the gunman, Faulstich said.Ī student, 15-year-old Alexandria Bell, was also killed. Students started jumping from the windows to escape, Alex recalled.īut her health teacher, Kuczka, was killed. "And then after he made eye contact, he just left." But then as I thought he was leaving, I opened my eyes to see him standing there making eye contact with me. "I didn't really want to see anything else. Kuczka, and I just closed my eyes," Alex said. Less than a minute later, someone started "violently jostling the handle, trying to get in," Faulstich said.Īlex Macias' health teacher, Jean Kuczka, also locked her classroom door, the student told CNN affiliate KSDK.īut the gunman managed to "shoot his way in," Alex said. Teacher Kristie Faulstich heard the phrase and locked her classroom door. Who would want to harm him? Detective Chad Weaver of the Volusia County Sheriff's Office learned from Jessica that the couple had been harassed by her jealous former boyfriend, Greg Bender, who left the couple threatening messages.It was a signal only heard during active shooter drills. Like he was shadowing my life, like he was not accepting of it at all," says Jessica. But what were the chances Weaver would find it? A DEADLY AMBUSH Weaver knew he had a prime suspect in Bender, but little evidence linking him to the crime – until he got a tip from Bender's former wife, who told the detective Bender had written a murder plan. OPERATOR: You don't want to try CPR, correct? What started as a slow Tuesday morning in 2018 for Volusia County, Florida, Sheriff's Detective Chad Weaver changed dramatically when a fragmented 911 call from a neighbor reporting Patrick De La Cerda's death came in. Within minutes, sheriff's deputies wearing body cameras entered the lush, 9-acre compound on the outskirts of Deltona, worried that the killer may still be here.ĭEPUTY : Sheriff's Office! If you're inside, you need to announce yourself now!"ĭetective Chad Weaver: When the deputies showed up, they had their guns out and … preparing for the worst but hoping for the best. With the gunman still at large, Detective Weaver took charge of the crime scene as TV news choppers hovered above.ĭet. Chad Weaver: As we walked up to that area, you could see a male, looked like he was in his early 20s … appeared that he was suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. WKMG NEWS REPORT: Deputies say someone shot right through his front door. Patrick De La Cerda was newly engaged and planning for his wedding when he was tragically gunned down at his home. Patrick De La Cerda, 25, had been shot four times by a high-powered rifle, right in the doorway of the house he shared with his father, Max, who was out of town that day. You know, right off the bat you're going, "OK, this is probably going to be a whodunit."Īt the scene, Detective Weaver and several deputies approached a traumatized Jessica Devnani, Patrick's 29-year-old fiancée, Max De La Cerda: I never got to say goodbye to my son, I never got to talk to him…nothingĭetective Chad Weaver: You could see the front door was open, there was glass all over the place, there's a lot of blood. JESSICA DEVNANI: My boyfriend's house and his dad's house. Jessica Devnani: I was just walking in circles around, like, the front yard, just pacing up and down. Just two months earlier - at this very location - Patrick had popped the question to Jessica and presented her with a temporary engagement ring. Patricia Ronze: Patrick was a wonderful son. And I really was looking forward to have grandchildren from him. Jessica and Patrick lived in different cities. On the night of February 26, 2018, Patrick left her this sweet voicemail: She was in Orlando, while Patrick lived with his father in Deltona, 30 miles away. PATRICK DE LA CERDA VOICEMAIL: "I love you, good night, sweet dreams. In the morning I'll call you, I'll send you a text when I wake up a little later, all right? Love you. It would be the last voicemail she would ever receive from her love. The next day, a series of what seemed like random events would change everything.
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