Friday, April 10, 2009

Mother shoots son in head at firing range.

VIEW VIDEO RECORDING HERE: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/moretop2/orl-marie-moore-shooting-video-040809,0,4312955.story

Police said Monday morning they still have no idea why an Altamonte Springs woman shot her son Sunday afternoon and then turned the gun on herself while the two were target practicing.

Evidence indicated Marie Moore, 44, intentionally shot her 20-year-old son, Mitchell, also of Altamonte Springs, police said. Why she did it, however, remains a mystery.

In a report just released, Casselberry officer Jeffrey Shumway said the two were sharing a firing lane at the Shoot Straight range on U.S. Highway 17-92, taking turns shooting and talking to people in an adjacent lane. "They seem to be getting along fine," he wrote in the report.

"At one point in the video you can see Mitchell Moore firing his pistol down range," Shumway wrote. "Marie Moore walked up behind Mitchell Moore and pointed a revolver at the back of his head and fired a single shot. The act appeared to be deliberate.

Investigator has not found any notes written by the woman that would indicate why she did it, Casselberry deputy police Chief William McNeil said.

The murder weapon was a gun rented from the shooting range, McNeil said. "We have found nothing to indicate they had [owned] any weapons," he said. The police report indicated they bought a membership there Sunday.

While family members indicated Marie Moore had a history of mental illness, McNeil said investigators still don't know any details about that.

There are restrictions about gun ownership in some cases of mental incompetence, but that would not stop a person from renting a gun at a shooting range, McNeil said.

Mitchell Moore died at the scene and his mother died a short time later at Florida Hospital Altamonte.

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