Phillip Duncan previously worked as a paraprofessional at Oakcrest Elementary School in Ocala.
According to the district, the principal was transported to the hospital following the incident and is expected to make a full recovery and sustained only minor injuries.
Jeroen Coombs is now charged with sexual battery on a child under the age of 12, on top of existing charges of first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse. It is unclear whether the new sexual battery charge involves the toddler or another child.
Concerned family members said they hadn't heard from her since last week, and deputies reported her supplies were left about 1 mile from her campsite.
According to Leesburg police, the woman was crossing U.S. 27 when she was hit by a gray Hyundai sedan that was traveling northbound on the highway.
An Ocala man has now been convicted after he raped a child last year, according to the State Attorney’s Office on Monday.
A pickup truck hit a Marion County school bus and took off, the Florida Highway Patrol says, sending nine Marion County students to an area hospital. FHP is looking for the truck.
According to FHP, a pickup truck was backing out of the driveway when it struck the child, who was standing behind the vehicle.
Two people have now been arrested months after nearly 70 horses were seized from a Central Florida rescue, according to the Marion County Sheriff's Office.
Last week, over a dozen more eateries across Central Florida were forced to close after a visit from a health inspector, according to state records.
After their full-time 9-to-5 jobs, a group of women in Ocala head to a different kind of workplace —one defined by strength, speed, and sisterhood, otherwise known as the Ocala Women’s Roller Derby League, Brick City Rollers.
On Thursday, the U.S. Census Bureau released a new report showing where people are moving — and one Central Florida city had the biggest boom nationwide.
A scheduled draw-down at the Rodman Reservoir, northwest of the Ocala National Forest and bordering Marion and Putnam Counties, revealed a secret landscape along the Ocklawaha River: hidden spring boils, drowned forests and remnants of a decades-old plan to cut across Florida.
An Ocala man was arrested after he was caught sexually propositioning a young boy in a gas station bathroom, according to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office.
Environmentalists want to permanently open a dam built for a canal that was supposed to cut through the middle of Florida from the Atlantic to the Gulf.
Marion County deputies found an unidentified woman dead on Silver Road after a possible overdose Friday evening, and Major Crimes detectives are investigating the case as a suspicious death.
After his first attempt failed, deputies said Alfio Nocifora returned with a rented U-Haul truck and successfully loaded the septic tank and about $2,500 worth of electrical pipe.
Every day, Wild heads to Silver Springs State Park to find its infamous monkeys. After a long, mosquito-heavy search, the park’s rhesus macaques finally make an unforgettable entrance.
A couple says they lost nearly $30,000 after buying a 2022 Chevrolet Silverado on Facebook Marketplace that turned out to be stolen and had a fake title and vehicle identification number.
More than a month later, the city of Dunnellon is still dealing with the fallout from a massive fire fueled by thousands of railroad ties.
The Marion County Sheriff’s Office arrested Viviana Harumi Ortiz-Lopez, 30, on Tuesday, March 10, 2026, on a charge of felony child abuse after a baby left in her care returned home with significant bruising to the face.
Central Florida is heading into a warm and mostly dry weekend, but if you’re headed to the beach, be careful. A high risk of rip currents will continue this weekend as steady onshore winds keep surf conditions rough at times.
After hours of discussion and emotional testimony, community members voiced strong concerns to the Marion County School Board over a proposal that could have possibly lead to the closure of Sparr Elementary School next year.
A Marion County mother was put behind bars this week after her 3-year-old daughter was beaten to death last month, according to the sheriff’s office.
The Dunnellon City Council voted Monday night not to join Marion County in seeking a court injunction against CSX following last month’s rail tie fire.
A class action lawsuit was filed against CSX Transportation, seeking $50,000 after a massive tie fire in Dunnellon prompted a toxic smoke warning and a state of emergency.
Officials say new surveillance videos released by the Marion County Sheriff’s Office show instances of abuse by a 31-year-old daycare.
Several law enforcement agencies throughout Central Florida have set up exchange zones in their parking lots to offer safe places to conduct online sales transactions.
A 31-year-old daycare worker was arrested after surveillance footage showed multiple instances of alleged abuse involving children at a learning center, deputies said.
Last week, seven more restaurants across Central Florida were forced to close after a visit from a health inspector, according to state records.
Florida residents are no strangers to invasive reptiles. But this 6-foot-long African lizard poses an especially big threat.
A man is in custody after allegedly harming a girl who later died in Marion County, according to the sheriff’s office.
A 32-year-old woman was arrested after Marion County deputies found two dead dogs and another dog inside a cage at a residence in Ocklawaha, according to the sheriff’s office.
A woman who shot a Marion County deputy while handcuffed in a patrol car last year will now spend several decades behind bars, according to court records obtained by News 6.
State Road 19 remained shut down in both directions Sunday due to brush fires, according to the Florida Department of Transportation.
Heavy smoke from a brush fire forced officials to close S.R. 19 south of Salt Springs on Saturday as firefighters worked to contain the blaze.
A husband and wife who practice real estate in Central Florida were reunited Thursday for the first time since they were detained by federal immigration agents in early January.
A Marion County couple’s retirement dreams have been shattered after discovering their recently purchased home will soon sit alongside a four-lane highway, a development they say came without warning.
A man who shot and killed his ex-wife and her 4-year-old daughter in Ocala was tracked by law enforcement to Georgia, where he then took his own life in a traffic stop, according to police Chief Mike Balken.
According to the district, groundwater levels in parts of Marion and Duval counties have dropped below the 15th percentile, meeting the district’s criteria for a shortage.
State environmental officials approved CSX Rail’s cleanup plan Monday following a massive fire that burned thousands of chemically treated railroad ties in Dunnellon, as city officials moved to join legal action against the company.
After a 17-year-old was arrested over setting his friend on fire last month, more details have been revealed in a fundraiser for the victim and his family.
Detectives with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office are investigating the “suspicious” deaths of two adults and two children outside of Ocala.
A bill moving through the Florida Senate would prohibit “adverse personnel action” against public-sector employees or contractors who choose to not use a person’s preferred pronouns.
City officials said no evacuations were necessary, and air quality monitoring conducted by an independent consultant contracted by CSX and local first responders showed no readings above action levels.
New footage released by the Marion County Sheriff's Office shows a 17-year-old setting his friend on fire with gasoline, according to investigators.
Last week, five more eateries across Central Florida were forced to close after a visit from a health inspector, according to state records.
A 34‑year‑old man was arrested early Friday after a shooting outside an Ocala bar left another man injured, according to the Ocala Police Department.
The emergency declaration, coordinated with the city of Dunnellon, comes as officials estimate 30,000 to 40,000 railroad ties caught fire early Sunday, prompting immediate response from Marion County Fire Rescue and Hazardous Materials teams.
Residents packed Dunnellon City Hall Monday night to voice concerns about potential long-term health effects following a railroad tie fire in Marion County that sent thick smoke into nearby neighborhoods.
Over the past few weeks, News 6 has reported on multiple school threats and hoaxes across Central Florida. Now, one local school district says it’s taking steps to get ahead of the issue.
Deputies say a motorcyclist was arrested in Marion County on allegations of traveling over 105 mph with a child as his passenger.
A midday fire damaged a double‑wide mobile home in northeast Ocala on Monday, displacing a family of four but causing no injuries, according to Marion County Fire Rescue.
A man and woman were arrested after claiming they were undercover detectives and stealing someone’s wallet while at a bank in Marion County, according to the sheriff’s office.
An Ocala man was arrested late last week as part of a human trafficking investigation, according to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office.
The video, recorded by a witness and submitted to authorities, depicts the horse in obvious distress trying to evade the repeated kicks and yanks, an arrest affidavit states.
Ocala police Chief Mike Balken shared a video statement to social media updating his agency’s investigation of a man’s fatal shooting last week.
People in some Central Florida counties may want to run their pool pumps overnight as temperatures fall below freezing. Here's what pool experts say to do.
Statewide, the Florida high school graduation rate is at 92.2%, up from 89.7% the previous year. Central Florida's school districts are also touting improved rates.
