A 13-year-old Florida girl is fighting for her life in hospital after surviving two gunshot wounds, including one to the face, during a horrific domestic violence incident that claimed her mother's life.
A Night of Horror in Polk County
The tragedy unfolded in Polk County shortly before midnight on Monday, 23rd December. According to Sheriff Grady Judd, the violence erupted after an argument over the television. Jason Kenney, 47, had been watching Monday Night Football in a garden shed before returning to the family home to catch the end of the game.
His wife, Crystal Kenney, was inside and objected to him taking over the TV. The dispute escalated rapidly. Crystal instructed her 12-year-old son to run to a neighbour's house and call 911. As the boy fled, he heard a gunshot.
A Plea for Mercy and a 'Christmas Miracle'
Deputies arriving at the scene made a grim discovery. Crystal Kenney had been fatally shot in the head. Her 13-year-old daughter was found on the floor, bleeding heavily from two gunshot wounds—one to the shoulder and one to the face.
Incredibly, the teenage girl survived. Sheriff Judd, who spoke with the conscious victim in hospital, revealed she described begging her stepfather for her life after witnessing him shoot her mother. "And he shot me anyway," the girl told the sheriff.
Judd explained the miraculous nature of her survival: the bullet that struck her face "hit the bridge of her nose, travelled straight up and exited the top of her head." He termed her survival a "Christmas miracle." The girl remains in a critical but stable condition.
Aftermath and a Family Shattered
Following the shooting, Jason Kenney fled before deputies arrived. He hid in a shed at his recently deceased father's property. En route, he called his sister, confessing he had done "something very, very bad" and that she would next see him on the news.
When deputies located and surrounded the shed, a single gunshot was heard from inside. Kenney had taken his own life. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The attack has left three children orphaned. Alongside the 13-year-old survivor and her 12-year-old brother, the couple shared an infant daughter who was unharmed during the attack. All three children are now in the care of their maternal grandparents.
