Sheriff's office investigating double homicide in southeast Ocala; asks for public's help
Marion County sheriff's deputies are investigating a double homicide that occurred in southeast Ocala on Sunday.
Authorities said around 11 a.m. Sunday they were called to a residence in Whispering Sands, located off Southeast 52nd Avenue, to investigate a suspicious incident.
When deputies arrived, they found a man and a female dead. The two had been shot, officials said. The incident has been classified as a double murder.
Law enforcement officials did not release the names or ages of the victims because family members had not yet been notified. Officials said the man and female lived in the same house. The address is also being withheld until family members are contacted.
Authorities also didn't disclose the relationship between the victims, how many times they had been shot or who called deputies.
Detectives are asking the public or residents in the community if they saw or heard anything in the early morning hours to call them.
Other killings in Whispering Sands
It's not the first time deputies have responded to the community for a near-deadly shooting.
Last year, a man was shot multiple times by another man in front of his children. Sheriff's deputies arrested two men, one of them identified as the triggerman, for the shooting.
A jury convicted the triggerman, Searron Brooks, who was sentenced to life in prison for attempted murder. The second man was acquitted.
In a separate incident, a jury said a man was innocent in the knife slaying of another man, a Whispering Sands resident, that occurred in 2019.
Anyone with information about the Sunday shooting can call Detective Joseph Miller at (352)369-6806. To remain anonymous, you can call Crime Stoppers of Marion County at (352)368-STOP and reference 23-54 in your tip, or at www.ocalacrimestoppers.com.
Contact Austin L. Miller at 867-4118, austin.miller@starbanner.com or @almillerosb.
This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Marion County Sheriff's Office investigating double homicide in Ocala
