Man kills wife, stepkids, self; spares own kids

RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. — A South Florida man spared his two biological children when he fatally shot his estranged wife and four stepchildren early Monday before turning the gun on himself, police said.

Seven children were inside the home when Patrick Dell, 41, killed their mother, identified as Natasha Whyte-Dell, 36, authorities said. She and four children were pronounced dead at the scene. All had been shot.
Investigators believe Dell acted alone, but an investigation was ongoing. The weapon was a handgun and the victims had been shot in various parts of their bodies, Chief Clarence Williams said.
A 15-year-old transported to St. Mary's Hospital was responsive prior to going into surgery Monday morning, Williams said.
"All indications are that he's doing well," Williams said.
Two of the couple's biological children, believed to be ages 1 and 3, were being cared for by relatives, police said.
A police officer was checking a suspicious vehicle around 2 a.m. when he heard what sounded like muffled gun shots, Riviera Beach Police spokeswoman Rose Anne Brown said. When officers approached the home, Dell went outside and shot himself. Dell died at the scene, she said.

Inside the home, officers found the bodies of the woman and four children identified as 10-year-old Daniel Barnett; 11-year-old Javon Nelson; 13-year-old Diane Barnett; and 14-year-old Bryan Barnett.
"It appears to be a murder-suicide," Brown said.
Palm Beach County School District officials plan to have grief counselors available at each of the children's schools.
By dawn Monday, police had blocked off all access to the crime scene, parking a large police truck to impede reporters' views.
The shootings occurred in a neighborhood of modest homes — some boarded up — near a small brick church. The family had lived in the white, green-trimmed single-level house for about a year, police said.
Jeanette Walker, a 56-year-old hairstylist who lives nearby, said she was awakened by gunfire, which is not an uncommon sound in the neighborhood.
"They over there shooting at each other again," she remembered thinking. "I didn't pay any attention because I didn't hear no sirens," she said.
Walker said there have been several shootings in the area since she moved there about three years ago. It wasn't until she turned on the morning news that she learned of the deaths.

Police Chief Clarence Williams commended the work of the police officers who immediately checked on the home after hearing the gunshots.
"Had it not been for excellent police work, this suspect could have escaped the scene and possibly injured or killed other innocent victims," he wrote in a release.
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 YOU KNOW ITS PRETTY BAD THAT HERE IN THE UNITED STATES GUNFIRE IS SUCH A COMMON THING THAT WE DON'T KNOW WHEN SOMEONE NEEDS HELP. AN ENTIRE FAMILY GONE EXCEPT FOR HIS BIOLOGICAL CHILDREN. NOW THEY HAVE TO LIVE WITH THE KNOWLEDGE THAT THEIR OWN FATHER KILLED THEIR STEP FAMILY. I FEEL SORRY FOR THEM BECAUSE THEY WILL NEED A LOT OF HELP TO GET THROUGH THIS. EVERYBODY SHOULD KEEP THEM IN THEIR PRAYERS.