Man suspected of murdering a mom and her 3 kids killed by law enforcement in hours-long motel standoff

A man suspected of murdering a Florida mom and her three kids was killed by law enforcement Wednesday after a standoff at a motel.

The Sanford Police Department said Al Joseph Stenson was dead after being shot by an officer after an hours-long standoff at the Slumberland Motel in Sanford, about 20 miles northeast of Orlando.

Stenson, 38, was suspected in the shooting deaths of a 40-year-old woman and her 21-year-old, 17-year-old and 11-year-old children in their apartment early Tuesday in nearby Lake Wales. The names of the victims have not been released.

The Lakeland Ledger, however, identified two of the victims as Marlene Pizarro, a teacher at Lake Wales High School, and her 17-year-old daughter Ariana Pizarro, a senior at the school.

Lakes Wales police was tipped off that Stenson was in Sanford around 2 a.m. on Wednesday. Sanford police spotted him at the motel and was joined at the scene by the Seminole County Sheriff’s SWAT and Crisis Negotiation Team.

Negotiations took part for several hours, during which time Stenson allegedly said it would end one of three ways: “I’m going to kill myself, you are going to kill me or I’m going to surrender.”

Police continued to attempt to get Stenson to surrender until shots were fired around 9:30 a.m. Stenson was pronounced dead on the scene.

At a news conference Wednesday, police described the woman as Stenson’s girlfriend. Stenson’s brother had been staying at the motel, police said.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the shooting.

“The Lake Wales Charter School System is deeply saddened by the tragic events that occurred last night. We have taken all necessary steps to ensure that counselors are available for our students and teachers,” the charter district’s superintendent, Wayne Rodolfich, said in a emailed statement