2 dead in apparent murder-suicide at Longwood home, deputies say

LONGWOOD, Fla. – Two people were found dead Wednesday in an apparent murder-suicide at Longwood home, according to the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies responded around 4 p.m. to a shooting at a home in the 2400 block of Jennifer Hope Blvd.

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In a release, deputies said they found a woman, later identified as 79-year-old Sandra Herman, with a gunshot wound in the front yard of the home. She was taken to a hospital in critical condition, where she later died, according to sheriff’s officials.

Deputies said they were told by witnesses the woman was shot by an elderly man, who they described as Herman’s ex-husband, adding he may have still been in the residence.

The sheriff’s office said they tried to communicate with the man for nearly seven hours. After obtaining a search warrant, deputies went into the home, where they found a man, later identified as 81-year-old Gilbert Principe, dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, officials said.

The sheriff’s office said there is no threat to the community.

Heidi Sargent, one of the neighbors, told News 6 she’s lived in the neighborhood for 18 years and has never seen this much action. She said she was also worried about the family in the home.

“It’s just sad to see that could happen to your neighbors,” she said. “You don’t know what they’re going through.”

Another neighbor said he thought he heard hammering, but then he realized that he was hearing gunshots.

“I heard somebody outside, a male, yelling, ‘Help, somebody help me, he’s got a gun. He’s shooting,’” he said.

Dr. Mohan Saoji, who lives nearby, said he knows the man who lives in the house where the shooting happened, adding that the man used to be a dentist.

“He’s not that kind of person. He’s very kind, very sober,” Saoji said. “All the patients that I know that went to him liked him.”

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