Coast Guard Serviceman Kills Wife, 7-Year-Old Son, Self: Reports

HOMESTEAD, FL — A man identified by media outlets as a U.S. Coast Guard electronics technician shot his wife and 7-year-old son to death, then killed himself, police said. It happened around 12:40 a.m. Sunday on the 11400 block of Southwest 242nd Lane in Homestead, Miami-Dade police said.

The man, identified as 44-year-old John Presnar, and his wife were involved in a domestic dispute that escalated into a shooting, police said.

"When the subject started shooting, his wife told her mother to run out of the house and call for help," police said in a release. Police officers arrived and found three people dead inside the home with gunshot wounds. Presnar's wife and son had been shot to death. He appeared to have shot himself.

Presnar's 8 year old daughter was also shot, police said. She was rushed to a hospital in critical condition.

Coast Guard spokesman Ryan Kelley told the Miami Herald that Presnar was a First Class electronics technician. He worked out of a base in Miami Beach and had served since 2001.

The Herald reported that Presnar's wife was 39-year-old Gretchen Presnar.

“The Coast Guard is deeply saddened by this tragedy and our hearts go out to the family members of those who were killed,” Kelley told the newspaper. We continue to pray for and offer the full support of the Coast Guard to the young child fighting for her life.”

Further details weren't immediately released.

Photo credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images