Action News is learning more about a Columbia County family rocked by tragedy Monday.
Police say a 16-year-old boy was shot and killed by their 15-year-old daughter while the couple was out of town Monday evening.
The Columbia County Sheriff's Office arrested the victim's 15-year-old sister, as well as an 11-year-old sister on Tuesday and charged them with premeditated murder.
According to a police report obtained by Action News from the White Springs Police Department, the sisters walked 3.6 miles from their home to the Dollar General store in White Springs following the shooting Monday night.
It says from there, the 11-year-old called a friend's mother and told her that she had run away. When that mother arrived to help, she learned the 15-year-old was also present at the Dollar General. That mother then called police.
At first the 15-year-old told police their parents had kicked the sisters out. The officer wrote that she appeared emotionless and was applying makeup during the conversation, in which also she mentioned that something may be wrong with their sibling.
The report said the officer pushed for the address, and that the gave only vague directions. Later, it says, she began to cry and confessed to officers that she had shot her brother.
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The 15-year-old told police she had been beaten by her brother and then locked in her bedroom by him earlier that evening. She said that when her brother fell asleep, the 11-year-old sister unlocked the door. The 15-year-old said that's when she found a gun in their parents' bedroom and shot him.
The two sisters said they left their 3-year-old sister behind and began walking to the Dollar General store.
"At first we didn't know what had happened," said Detective Cecil Brownfield, "so the officer was very compassionate with the girls. They had put them in the break room at the Dollar General store to keep them comfortable. We were mainly worried about their safety."
Brownfield said his conversation with the 11-year-old was kept to a minimum because the Columbia County Sheriff's Office was quickly called in to check on the home. Once they confirmed the boy was dead, CCSO detectives took over the investigation.
"I put her in my car," Brownfield told Action News. "It was cold outside and she was upset. She didn't really know what was going on at the time."
While this is the first homicide in Columbia County in over a year, Brownfield said the CCSO is thoroughly looking for answers.
"They are leaving nothing out and are looking for, I can't say a great outcome, but an outcome with some answers for everybody."
Meanwhile, both parents have been charged with child neglect for failing to properly provide supervision to the four children. Police say the parents left the home Monday, and that she traveled with him as he made rounds as a truck driver. The pair left their four children behind. Police say they were approximately three hours away when they were notified of the incident.
All four will make their first appearance in court on Wednesday.
The 3-year-old was not a witness to the shooting, but was in the home at the time. According to the Florida Department of Children and Families, she has now been placed in protective custody.
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