GROVELAND, Fla. – A shooting at a Groveland day care Thursday afternoon left one person in the hospital, according to the day care’s owner.
Lisbel Rodriguez, owner of We Are The Future Academy, said two brothers-in-law picked up their children and got into a fight outside the office.
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One of them had already picked up his child and was leaving the center when he passed by the other family member outside the day care. Rodriguez said a fistfight ensued.
Children were playing on the playground when employees heard a gunshot, and workers scrambled to bring the children inside, according to Rodriguez.
Afterward, the owner stated she put the entire day care center on lockdown to keep anyone else from getting hurt.
She said she went outside through a separate building and saw a man suffering from a gunshot lying in some bushes near the office.
Rodriguez said she called 911, but the shooter didn’t run away or drive off, he went to his car and waited for police.
The victim was taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center for treatment.
Rodriguez said she sent a message to parents of children at the day care to let them know what happened.
Baylee McDaniel, the mother of a child attending the day care, said she was scared upon hearing about the incident.
“When I heard it was a shooting, my whole heart stopped,” she said. “My stomach sank. I was like, ‘I have to get my daughter now.’”
McDaniel said her daughter was “a little shaken up” and “crying” when she picked the child up from the day care.
“I don’t understand how somebody could be so reckless and want to do this at a child’s facility with children on the playground, playing,” McDaniel stated.
According to Rodriguez, she’d heard about family drama involving the brothers-in-law prior to the shooting.
Despite recent events, the day care said it will still be open Friday.