A woman who lost her daughter and grandchildren in a shooting in Pembroke Park speaks as the man who authorities said shot them dies.
A man who fatally shot his estranged girlfriend and three of her young children before turning the gun on himself in Pembroke Park has died, authorities said.
Stephen McKenzie died at a hospital on Thursday, Broward Sheriff's Office officials confirmed on Monday.
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WATCH HEREThe shooting happened Wednesday night at an apartment complex near the 3100 block of Hallandale Beach Boulevard.
PEMBROKE PARK TRAGEDY
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Authorities said McKenzie fatally shot 32-year-old Julie Cruz, 11-year-old Xion Solomon, 2-year-old Nova McKenzie and 2-year-old Emery McKenzie.
He also shot 8-year-old Phiinyx Solomon, who survived the shooting but remains hospitalized, before turning the gun on himself, authorities said.
Cruz and McKenzie shared two sons, Nova and Emery McKenzie. Cruz’s son Xion Solomon and daughter Phiinyx Solomon have a different father, Kelvin Solomon.
Cruz's mother, Irma Denisse, told NBC's Telemundo that her daughter had been planning to leave McKenzie and move out this weekend.
"I don't know if she told him she was leaving, I don't know if she was packing up, I don't know those details," Denisse said in Spanish. "I asked her many times to leave him and come home, but she said the children wanted him."
Denisse spoke again outside the hospital on Monday.
“My daughter Julie was a hardworking mom. She wouldn’t trust her kids with anybody. She was very devoted to her children, to my grandson, taking him to his football practice," Denisse said. "The two little ones Emery and Nova, they were just so adorable and happy. I miss them terribly. For me it feels like it’s a nightmare right now."
The shooting shocked the Pembroke Park community and those who know the family, including Cybele Rivera, who said she used to teach the toddlers, Nova and Emery.
"Every day they would come and they were like happy kids. They were little rambunctious little two-year-olds," Rivera said. "Innocent little kids. The dad always came and nothing seemed odd. We knew that they were separated and something was going on but nothing like this. Nothing like this."
Xion and Phiinyx had been students at ECB Educational K-8 Center. The principal released a statement on Monday.
"Xion's laughter and quirky smile will forever echo in the halls of the ECB Educational Center. We will remember the roaring recess football victories with your friends," the statement read, in part. "Phiinix's contagious smile, warm spirit and special giftings are felt. Whether she gives you a friendship bracelet or an impressive art piece, it is done with love. Feel better Phiinyx."
The motive for the shooting remains unknown. The shooting remains under investigation.
