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Triple Homicide In Jupiter: 2 Women, 1 Man Gunned Down In Peaceful Florida Town

By Lawrence Arboleda
Published on: 19:12 PST, Feb 6, 2017

The police are embroiled in an ongoing investigation involving a triple homicide in Jupiter, WPTV reports.

Law enforcement officers confirmed following an initial investigation that two women and one man have been gunned down on Sunday night.

The triple homicide was committed along Mohawk Street near Jupiter Christian School at around 10:30 p.m. The three victims were found dead when law enforcement officers arrived at the scene.

The victims, who were in their 20s, have been identified, namely Kelli J. Doherty, 20, of Tequesta, Brandi El-Salhy, 24, of Gainesville and Sean P. Henry, 25, of Jupiter.

Jupiter Christian School cancelled classes on Monday to keep students safe and to make it easy for the police to conduct their investigation.

Residents of Jupiter River Estates were told Monday morning to stay inside their homes on account of the ongoing investigation of the triple homicide case. They were allowed to leave their homes later on.

Laurie Bundy, a next door neighbor, told the police she heard several loud gunshots at around 10:30 pm, right after the Super Bowl ended.

“I saw a vehicle drive by fast. Then I saw a young man running down the street,” she said.

At around 8:30 a.m., six Palm Beach County fire/rescue and bomb squad trucks pulled onto Crow Street, only a block away south of Mohawk Street after a suspicious package had been found in one of the homes. Fifteen homes were evacuated to keep the residents safe, Jupiter police chief Frank Kitzerow said.

At 12:30 p.m., police confirmed that the package didn’t pose a threat and then allowed the residents to return to their homes.

Law enforcement said that the attacks were not random. The police haven’t made any arrests yet, but they have identified a person of interest during their investigation. The name of the person hasn’t been released to the media.

During the investigation, a car was reportedly stopped on Interstate 95 near Northlake Boulevard. The car was later towed from the area.

“Obviously it’s an ongoing active investigation. There are some details I can’t provide. I don’t want to hamper this case in any way,” the police chief said.

A triple homicide near Jupiter River Estates, whose roads were named after Native Americans, was the last thing its peaceful residents expected — even on a Sunday night, as reported by Palm Beach Post.

“This is a nice middle class neighborhood. It’s very family friendly. We know each other, go trick-or-treating to each other’s houses. I never thought we’d see anything like this,” said Jennifer Foster, a Jupiter resident who grew up in the neighborhood.

“It’s a great neighborhood. We all wave to each other,” said Maggie Jeffries, who lives only a few blocks away from the shootings. She grew up in the Jupiter area.

Jeffries said she and her husband had just finished watching the Super Bowl when they heard four loud gunshots, followed by a few seconds of silence. Then they heard four shots again.

“It wasn’t fireworks. It was gunfire. My dogs were terrified. I figured it was somebody celebrating the Super Bowl,” she said while standing outside her Jupiter home on Monday morning.

The triple homicide case in Jupiter is the first homicide reported since April 2015. The worst homicide reported in the neighborhood occurred on November 27, 2009, when Paul Merhige shot to death four family members at their home right after celebrating Thanksgiving Day, according to a Palm Beach Post database. Merhige, who is mentally ill, escaped law enforcement after the killings, but was captured in the Florida Keys in January 2010. He is currently serving life imprisonment after a plea deal.

[Featured Image by Larry W. Smith/Getty Images]

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