The children, ages 1 and 2, were shot inside an apartment near South Rio Grande Avenue, authorities said.
ORANGE COUNTY, FL — Two young children died Friday evening after deputies said their father shot them inside an Orange County apartment, then died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The shooting began as a call about a man with a gun chasing a woman near the 4400 block of South Rio Grande Avenue, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies found the woman unhurt, but she told them she feared for her children, who were inside a nearby apartment. The deaths left investigators sorting through a brief and violent sequence that unfolded as deputies reached the home.
Deputies were called to the area about 6:30 p.m. Friday after the report of an armed man chasing a woman. When they arrived, they made contact with the woman and learned the children were still inside the apartment, the sheriff’s office said. As deputies approached the unit, they heard several gunshots coming from inside. They entered and found two children, ages 1 and 2, suffering from gunshot wounds. Deputies gave aid at the scene before the children were taken to a hospital, where they later died. The sheriff’s office said the man found dead inside the apartment was the children’s father.
Authorities had not released the names of the children, the woman or the man as of Friday night. Deputies also had not said whether the woman was the children’s mother or described the relationship between the adults beyond identifying the man as the father. Investigators did not release the type of firearm used, where inside the apartment the children were found or how many shots were fired. The sheriff’s office said the man died from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Officials said there was no further threat to the community after the bodies were found.
The shooting happened in a residential area off South Rio Grande Avenue, a corridor southwest of downtown Orlando with apartment complexes, homes and businesses nearby. Deputies did not identify the apartment complex in the initial release. The case drew a heavy law enforcement response because the first report involved an armed person moving outside and a possible threat to children inside a home. By the time deputies entered the apartment, the children and their father had already been shot, according to the timeline released by the sheriff’s office.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office said the case remains a death investigation. No arrests were expected because investigators said the suspected shooter was dead. Detectives were expected to continue processing the apartment, reviewing the original emergency call and collecting statements from the woman, deputies who responded and any witnesses in the area. Authorities had not announced any pending news conference, court action or additional public briefing by late Friday. The medical examiner’s office will determine the official causes and manners of death.
The first public details came from the sheriff’s office in a short release Friday night. The agency said deputies “heard several gunshots” as they neared the apartment and then found the two wounded children inside. The woman who had been chased was not injured, deputies said. No other injuries were reported. The sheriff’s office did not say whether deputies had prior calls to the apartment, whether there had been earlier reports involving the family or whether any protective orders or custody issues were part of the investigation.
The deaths of two children so young narrowed the focus of the investigation to a small number of facts that authorities had confirmed and many they had not. Deputies said the children were alive when found and were taken for emergency care. They later died at the hospital. The father was found dead in the apartment. The woman survived. The sheriff’s office said the public was not in danger after the shooting, signaling investigators were not searching for another suspect.
As of Friday night, the sheriff’s office had not released the children’s identities or a fuller account of what happened before the 6:30 p.m. call. The next major update is expected to come after investigators notify family members and complete more of the scene work.
Author note: Last updated Friday, June 5, 2026.