A man accused of fatally shooting his wife at a Jewish community center in Miami-Dade over the weekend is a person of interest in the 2014 disappearance of a young mother from Fort Lauderdale, officials said.
Carl Watts, 45, is facing charges of second-degree murder and possession of a weapon by a convicted felon in Sunday's fatal shooting in the pool area at the Michael-Ann Russell Jewish Community Center on Northeast 25th Avenue.
Miami-Dade Police officials said he showed up at the center and fatally shot his wife, identified by family members as 30-year-old Shandell Harris, as Harris was attending her daughter's swimming lesson.
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On Monday, it was revealed that Watts had stabbed Harris multiple times the day before the shooting and that the incident was reported to Miami Police, officials said.
According to an arrest report, Watts confronted Harris, asking her not to press charges for the stabbing but when she declined, he allegedly shot her multiple times.
After she collapsed, Watts stood over her and continued to shoot her until he ran out of live rounds, the report said.
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"He followed her, chased her down and shot her — like an animal he was hunting," said Aaron Batten, Harris' cousin.
It was also revealed on Monday that Watts is still considered a person of interest in the 2014 disappearance of Trukita Scott, according to Fort Lauderdale Police.
Scott, a 24-year-old mother of two at the time, had been last seen in Miami Gardens on June 25 of that year.
Scott's car was later discovered in Liberty City but she was never found.
At the time of her disappearance, family members said they believed Watts, her longtime boyfriend, was responsible, but he was never charged in her disappearance.
Fort Lauderdale Police officials said Monday that the investigation into Scott's disappearance is ongoing, and detectives have been in contact with Miami-Dade Police.
Watts is a convicted felon who has been arrested multiple times and convicted for multiple weapons violations dating back to 1995, an arrest report said.
