Anna Newhoff
NCR Reporter
Hilliard man Christopher Bobby Rowell, 34, shot and killed three women inside a home Thursday night before turning the gun on himself, according to Nassau County Sheriff Bill Leeper.
At a press conference held Friday morning, Leeper shared that deputies responded to a home on West 12th Avenue in Hilliard around 8 p.m. after receiving a 911 call about a shooting. A five-year-old girl, who was inside the home at the time of the murders, walked to a neighbor’s house and told the homeowner that Rowell had killed the people inside.
When deputies arrived, they attempted to make contact with those inside but received no response. According to Leeper, upon deputies entering through an unlocked front door, they discovered three women dead inside and Rowell critically injured with an SKS-style 7.62 caliber assault rifle beside him.
According to the NCSO case report, the Nassau County Fire Rescue responded to the scene and rendered aid. The three women were pronounced dead at the scene, while Rowell was airlifted to UF Health Jacksonville. Sheriff Leeper said Rowell has since been declared clinically deceased and his organs are being donated.
“It appears the shooter first shot the female in the living room dining room area,” Leeper said. “Then shot the female in the bathroom, and then shot the female in the bedroom. He eventually returned to the living room, where he shot himself in the head.”
Leeper went on to describe that the child was in the back of the house when she heard gunshots. She then went down the hallway, seeing the deceased woman in the living room and dining room area, when another victim grabbed her and pulled her into the bathroom. The woman was then shot, getting blood splatter on the unharmed child.
“This was some type of domestic incident,” Leeper said. “We have a theory of what happened, but we want to investigate a little bit further to determine exactly the cause.”
The names of the victims have not yet been released, pending notification of next of kin. The specific relationships between the victims, Rowell, and the child also have not been released.
“The positive is the child was not injured, thank God,” Leeper said. “And the shooter had the courage to shoot his self.”
The NCSO is expected to release more information as the investigation continues.