Shooter attacks family in apartment

A gunman is sought in the deaths of a woman and her teenage son.

By Casey Cora and Amber Mobley, Times Staff Writers
Published March 12, 2008

TAMPA - A gunman opened fire in a north Tampa apartment early Tuesday, killing two people and wounding one but sparing a 6-month-old.

Investigators provided no motive for the shooting and named no suspect.

Killed were Susan Myrick, 35, and her son, Laurier Myrick Jr., 17. Her daughter, Jessica Myrick, 18, suffered multiple gunshot wounds to her upper body, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office reported.

Jessica Myrick, mother to daughters ages 6 months and 4 years, was admitted to St. Joseph's Hospital in critical condition, according to Francine Myrick, her stepmother. The Sheriff's Office said she underwent surgery.

Her baby was in the apartment during the shootings but was not injured, and the 4-year-old was not home. Authorities put both girls in the custody of Jessica's father, Laurier Myrick Sr., according to Debbie Carter, a Sheriff's Office spokeswoman.

Laurier Myrick Jr., who went by "Rick," attended Freedom High School in New Tampa as recently as this school year but was no longer enrolled at the time of the shooting.

The shootings occurred in a second-floor unit of the Camelot Apartments, 13135 N 19th St., about 10 blocks west of the University of South Florida. Deputies arrived in response to a call of shots fired at 2:09 a.m. Since January, the Sheriff's Office has responded 10 times to calls at the complex.

Relatives gathered in front of the crime scene tape that ringed the apartment complex, embracing one another.

"I don't know what's going through my mind," said Laurier Myrick Sr., ex-husband to Susan Myrick and father to Jessica and Laurier Jr. "I just want to find out who did it."

As deputies continued their investigation Tuesday, Camelot resident Oveida Hearn said, "I'm still stunned."

While Hearn, 45, didn't know her neighbors well, she said Susan Myrick would always say hello.

Hearn heard the early morning gunfire but thought nothing of it, rolled over and went back to sleep.

"I had no idea people were over there being murdered like they were," she said.

Casey Cora can be reached at ccora@sptimes.com or 813 226-3386. Amber Mobley can be reached at amobley@sptimes.com or (813) 269-5311.

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Want to help?

Anyone with information about the shootings is asked to call the Sheriff's Office at (813) 247-8200 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-873-8477.

[Last modified March 12, 2008, 01:49:02]