E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSSRecording of a portions of 911 calls made in connection with a Florida mom's shooting of four children and her apparent suicide released by Brevard County Sheriff's Dept on Friday.
Recordings of 911 calls and autopsy results released Friday provide a window into the predawn chaos on Tuesday when Florida mother Tonya Thomas apparently shot and killed her four children and then killed herself, WESH Orlando reported.
Neighbors — a husband and wife awakened by loud banging on their door and cries for help — called police to report the disturbance.
In conversations with police dispatchers, it became apparent that the disoriented couple had three neighbor kids outside their door in Port St. John, Fla. From the recordings –- parts of which were broadcast by WESH -- it was clear that they knew at least one of the children was bleeding, but they were uncertain who had been shot and who had a gun.
"They tried to break in our front door to get in, I guess, to get away from her, whoever’s got the gun," the unidentified man, who apparently is sharing the phone with his wife, says on the initial call, according to the WESH video. "So I grabbed my gun and ran outside and one of them is laying there bleeding right there at our front door."
"He's bleeding at the front door," the dispatcher repeats, and then asks: "Is he still there?"
"No, he went back home," the man responds.
Dispatcher: "And he went back inside the residence?"
"I guess," the man responds in the recording on WESH. "I don't know who has the gun so I'm not walking out there."
According to WESH's video, the man tells the dispatcher as the sound of shooting next door continued: "I'm armed, but I’m not going out there and put myself in danger."
The woman says, her voice cracking, "I knew this was going to happen," according to the account by Florida Today.
Later the news emerged that all of the children and their mother were dead.
Police believe that Thomas, 33, shot to death all four of her children — Joel, Jazzlyn, Jaxs and Pebbles Johnson.
Jaxs, 15, sustained three gunshots to his chest, two with the gun pressed up against his skin, according to an autopsy report released Friday, WESH reported. He was apparently sleeping on the couch at the time.
Pebbles, 17, was shot three times from a distance, according to the autopsy.
Joel, 12, was shot five times and his sister Jazzlyn, 13, had been shot seven times. The two younger children were found near each other, WESH reported, citing the autopsy.
Thomas was found in the garage with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, it said.
It was unclear what made the children go back to their home, where they were finally shot to death.
"There’s a possibility that they were just in shock," Brevard County Sheriff's spokesman Tod Goodyear told WESH.
Turbulent household
Police and social workers were aware of turbulence in the home prior to the tragedy.
Police answered a call on April 9 from Thomas that son Jaxs had battered her in a fight after she tried to get him out of bed, Florida Today reported.
Jaxs was due in court Tuesday on the criminal charges for that alleged assault, it said.
Records released Friday by the Department of Families and Children also show social workers had three contacts with Thomas and her children over the past decade, Florida Today reported.
In 2000 there was a domestic violence incident between Thomas and the children's father Joe Johnson that temporarily sent Thomas to a shelter and caused the children to be removed from the home. They reunited not long after, against the advice of the agency, according to Florida Today.
In April, Thomas told social workers that her son Jaxs had anger management problem, records show.
However, the social work records show that the siblings talked with social workers and told them that they felt safe in the home, according to the Florida Today account.
Family friend Rachel DeCamp said Thomas was working through a number of personal issues, the report said.
"She was a mother dealing with teenagers. She was having some financial problems, she was on food stamps. Then the father of her children had just gotten out of jail and was trying to make amends and she didn’t want to be with him," DeCamp told Florida Today.
Later on Friday, the husband in the 911 recordings said he and his wife had received death threats due to press reports that they had refused entry to the wounded kids. In a statement obtained by WESH, the man describes his efforts to help them before making the call, and the horror and confusion over who was doing the shooting.
He also said that Thomas and the kids had come to them numerous times in the past for help, which they were more than willing to offer.
"My wife and I are emotionally devastated," the man said in the statement.
More content from msnbc.com and NBC News:
- Mysterious object nearly downed plane over Denver
- Highway murders: Suspect held in 'fake cop' case
- Video: Scientist bit by alligator: 'A little out of my size range'
- Chicago braces for major protests as NATO summit looms
- 'Green Team' kids urge Crayola to recycle plastic markers
Leave a Comment:
This story really touches my heart. What could have been done prior to save this family?
Sad, that's all I can say, just sad!
"i knew this was going to happen," the neighbor said. way to take the initiative and protect those kids.
@TampaBayRays1...How could you POSSIBLY expect these people to "protect" these kids amongst the obvious violence that was going on in this household? You really believe these neighbors should PROTECT the kids when ONE of the kids was supposed to go to court that same day for assaulting his mother? If he assaulted his MOTHER, it wouldn't be out of the realm of possibilities that this kid could and would assault a person reporting them to CYS or the police. They also tried to KICK IN the neighbors' door when all of this was going on. I totally understand that the kids were scared and probably trying to get away from the woman that was hurting them. But to cause such a commotion then GO BACK into the house...that, to me, is a bit shady, and very confusing. The neighbors didn't even know who HAD the gun. If it were ME, I would've called the cops THEN let them in one by one checking for a weapon as they entered. After they were all in I would've locked the door then taken them to an area in the house where it was safe. I don't blame them for not wanting to get involved first-hand with the history of violence this 'family' had. And I don't understand why anyone would say that the neighbors should have put themselves in danger by getting directly involved. It's sad but, you gotta protect you and yours before anyone else.
Hindsight is always 20/20. I don't think she truly 'knew' this was going to happen though I must admit I thought the same. If you have an inkling that those children aren't safe then it should be reported. I don't know everything that happened so I can't judge but it's truly a terribly sad case. I don't know why those kids went back into the house when one was already injured, but I don't blame the neighbors for wanting to protect themselves when there was a previous history of violence with that family.
Wow, I hope you take a look at this comment and really reconsider your thought process. THIS WOMAN MURDERED HER CHILDREN. Would you put it past her to falsely report her son for abusing her?? Work the system in HER favor? THEY WERE JUST MURDERED BY THEIR MOTHER. Jax was supposed to "go to court" is there not a reason we have innocent until proven guilty? What a better way to cover up being an abusive parent than by playing the victim?
When I was 14 I had to call the cops on my mother when she slit her own throat and threatened to kill me and my little brothers, I seriously thought she would do it. I imagined this exact thing would happen, she would kill us and no one would try to help or protect us. We were frequently abused and everyone in our FAMILY knew it and never reported it and I sure as hell know our neighbors heard us getting strangled and beaten and locked in closets yet no one reported it. IT MAKES ME SICK WHEN PEOPLE KNOW CHILDREN ARE BEING ABUSED AND DO NOTHING ABOUT IT. You can remain confidential, there is no excuse.
How sad is it that we live in a world where a child can bang on your door BLEEDING TO DEATH but you do nothing to help? I'd rather give my own life than have the blood of another's on my hand.
Florida Chick - Yes, we know NOW that this mother murdered her children, but as this was happening the neighbors didn't know what she was doing, or that she was going to do it. It is really easy to say what should have been done, but maybe when the neighbor said she "knew" that something like this would happen, she just knew that the mother seemed unstable or off. She didn't say that the kids had been abused or anything like that. And, when those kids came to their door, they did the first thing they should have done - called 911. You have no idea what series of events lead up to this and you're letting your sad and terrifying past color your opinion. Yes, your family should have reported abuse in your family. And if these neighbors knew of abuse, they should have reported it. But you are assuming an awful lot from what is in this story.
"I knew this was going to happen." - What does that imply? The neighbors knew this woman was mentally unstable. No one just says "I knew this was going to happen" because some suburban mom had a sudden mental break down. The neighbor said she knew that something BAD was going to happen because obviously they saw they signs prior to this event.
No, I do not know the series of events that lead up to this event and neither does anyone else that wasn't there. I'm not going off of my past, I'm going off what the neighbor was quoted saying in the article. AND if you look at other news sources you will see that CYS was investigating this family so obviously there was suspect of abuse.
@TBR & FC, I am a licensed EMT. In order to pass the test to be licensed it is necessary to have two phrases so ingrained they fall out of your mouth. . . .at every station of the practical exam.
One of those phrases is "scene safe". EMS never enters a scene until we are cleared that the scene is indeed safe. If there are people laying in the street and the shooter is still at large, we do not approach those victims.
We are professionals and you want a civilian to do what we are trained not to do? Get a grip.
How about no guns in the house...that would have helped.
Yes, novel concept that simply can not be grasped...
No guns in the house is a non-issue. Knives, cars driven into lakes, baseball bats, simple drowning in tubs have all been used by parents to kill their children. The hate wants what the hate wants, and will find a way to get what it wants. I just wish the selfish woman had her priorities straight and started with herself.
I'm confused - did this neighbor refuse entry to the kids banging at the door? If so, much, MUCH shame on him. Otherwise shame on the writers for not making it more clear. If he'd kept the kids with him, then more would be alive now?
having a gun makes it a lot easier to kill the kids. I doubt with children aging from 12-17 she could have killed all of them with a baseball bat or by drowning them in a tub. everyone wants to say people kill people not guns, but the sole purpose of a gun (as opposed to a bath tub, car or bat) is to kill another human being.
I am not sure if I would have let them in the house. Reading that one son was due in court to answer to assult charges against the mother makes it appear that the whole family was unstable. Whose to know if the mother filed false or unsupport assult charges, but the neighbors could have known the family and could have been privy to more information on their dealings which could have weighed on the desicion to not let them in the house. but, at the end of the day, I would like to agree with you and say I think they should have let them in the house, or at least told them to not go back in the house where the orginal shooting occured.
I wonder what the children could have said to the neighbor. Tradegy though, esp for the younger kids.
@2kmaro...The article was pretty clear to me. The majority of the kids had gone back home by the time the man answered the door. The neighbors were sleeping when the kids started banging on the door. The neighbors, when they finally awoke, called the cops FIRST before doing anything else. By the time the neighbor man called 911, grabbed his gun, and went outside...he found only one kid still there, bleeding. The others apparently ran back home. So, by the time the neighbors got downstairs to get the door, the kids had gone back home. He then stated to the 911 dispatcher that he didn't know WHO had a weapon and wasn't going to put himself in danger by going over to the house to find out. And I absolutely DO NOT blame him. In this day and age a person has no idea who is trying to hurt who and why. It's stupid people who don't assess the situation and think BEFORE they act that end up getting hurt or killed. And in this case, the woman KILLED her KIDS...what makes you think she wouldn't have hurt or killed a bystander UNrelated to her? How was he to know what was really going on? What if the kid was the one who was armed and killing people? How could you blame or shame ANYONE who had just woken up, was disoriented, and didn't know what was going on from NOT letting them in? (that's not what happened, I'm just saying...) THE KIDS WENT BACK HOME, he didn't make them leave. This family was known for being violent, and I'm sure the neighbors knew. There's absolutely NOTHING wrong with protecting yourself from a known violent and dysfunctional group of people. And KNOWING that they were violent, he very well could have been saving his own life by just staying inside and calling the police. Who is to say that if he had kept them with him, that the crazy woman wouldn't have come over there and killed the two neighbors? Who is to say, without knowing what was going on, that it wasn't the 15 year old (who assaulted his mother in the past), out on a rampage with a gun? SHAME ON YOU for suggesting that innocent people risk their lives by trying to understand what was going on before they acted. In order for him to keep the kids with him he would have had to go over to that house and get them. If that had been the case, maybe MORE would've ended up DEAD!
The problem is murderous people! People who are going to murder, will find a way. Anything can be used as a weapon. I just find it silly to argue about guns, knives, etc. The problem is the PEOPLE! How do we find out who these murderous people are and stop them ahead of time? It doesn't matter what weapon they use!
and I find it silly that we would have sell or have guns easily accessible to muderous people.
I get that there are situations where if someone wants to kill someone they don't need a gun, seen in most domestic situations or creepy serial killers. On the flip side there are thousands of sensless deaths that I do not see occuring without guns; gangs, drug related.
That said, I do understand that people should be able to protect themselves and their family.
Notice the argument that if more people had guns this would not happen did not work. The neighbor did have a gun. He also had a brain and a desire to live another day, so he didn't use it.......
Difficult to know just what to have done in a situation like this. Just stop and think what you would do if someone bleeding actually tried to knock your door down. They called the police which is proactive. Problem is that it seems like something should have been done long before it exploded. So very sad.
The man was armed. He should have let the kids in, and hid them. He could have protected his home from any intruder, legally. I'm not sure what kind of kids this woman raised, but I doubt they deserved to be executed by their own mother.......
Again...all but one of the kids had gone back home by the time the neighbor answered the door. To have hid them, he would have had to have gone over to their home and retrieved them. He DID go down and open the door, so it's not like he hid upstairs in the bedroom while shots were being fired (although I wouldn't have blamed him had he done this). The poor man didn't know WHAT was going on, nor who had a gun. For all he knew, it was the 15 y.o. who had the gun in his waistband and was on a shooting spree. Or the crazed mother may have been hiding on the side of the house waiting for the guy to come out, blindsiding him. One has to protect themselves before anyone else...what good to anyone is he dead?
I wish people would get off the neighbors case on this. He had NO idea what was going on and I know that this all happened within a matter of seconds. The three children were teenagers. How is one person going to convince freaked out teenagers on what it is they need to do when he doesn't even understand what is going on himself? There is gunfire going on and he does not know what is happening. Give him a break.
@Suds in Denver.... EXACTLY!!
The 4 kids had a history of running lose and terrorizing the neighbors. I think the neighbors who figured out it was the 4 kids outside didn't know what to expect. He said he wasn't sure who had the gun so he wasn't going out there. Makes sense - I wouldn't either based on those kids' history.
Good Samaritan law applies. That neighbor who refused to help the kids when they came to him asking for help should be jailed for involuntary manslaughter.
Wil Morris - That isn't fair to say. The history is that neighbors have been terrorized by these kids. So, it isn't his responsibility to get shot! There was no way for him to know what was happening. Pretty quick to judge when it isn't your life on the line, isn't it Wil? He called 911 and tried to get help there.
This is an awful story. Police had been called because of the kids numerous times. It then should have been their responsibility to notify child services and see what was happening at that house. It's always easy to go after people after the fact, isn't it? I'll bet this poor man/neighbor is devastated!
No way would I let them in my house. These were bad kids with a bad mom. Mom saved taxpayer expense on incarceration when they would have grown up and for her own welfare benefits most likely.
mmm - We both know your statement is really harsh, but probably the actual truth. Very sad!
Should we blame the neighbor? Well, he could have saved those kids, but instead he chose to look the other way, play it safe, and save himself.
He had a gun to protect himself and his home. He is certainly no hero. Some might call him cowardly, although we never know what we would do in such a situation. But I'm sure he is not proud of his actions.
Um, open the front door so they could get away from her.
this is so depressing. Obviously blood and knocks are not the ones who have the gun.
I do know that when my sisters best friend was being chased, and shot at she was shot three times, if the neighbor had not answered the door, she would be dead! The husband did only 5 years for attempted murder!
Call CPS, or police, you can call anomalously, if you have a gut feeling go with it, better to err for the safety of the kids!
As bad as the end result is, I don't think many people would have gone outside not knowing who the shooter was or where they were located. I feel bad for him to have to live with the "what could I have done differently?" on his mind. This whole situation is just too sad to put into words.
Heart goes out the kids who were in the middle of a hellish family situation. All the adults in this situation are partially responsible for it going this far to some degree. The neighboor should have automaticly taken those kids in and barred the door with his gun in hand. Also, made sure to have police come in asap! Honestly wonder why the hell the mother didn't just kill herself instead of taking other lives with her.
Let's Blame Everybody Except the Person that did the shooting. Thats what people do. Now somebody will want to sue the Neighbor who had nothing to do with it. But enough of that, let's get back to more important things like Travone and Zimmerman.
Maybe the child who ran back wanted to try to save the other children. --The neighbor had his wife in the house with him, he had to think of her too and, he didn't know who was shooting or where they were. I agree with hhv94. Why couldn't she just shoot herself and be done with it? The poor, pathetic kids-crazy parents, messed up life, horrible death.
Thank you, thank you, Ms. Thomas. R.I.P. Saves us the trouble of reading about Jax killing some innocent person.
First of all I live in the neighborhood. All of my kids knew the Johnson kids & were friends with them. In fact, just weeks ago Jazzi spent the night in our home. I want everyone to know.. contrary to media reports, these were good kids! Jazzi was very outgoing, friendly, & was an honor student ( my daughter is also in the honor society), Pebbles had skipped a year & was to graduate early at 17, she scored so high on her sat, she earned a scholarship to college! Little Joel was the sweetest & most tender of all hearts, ask any parent or student that went to Atlantis Elem., Now let's talk about Jax.. all the media can talk about is how Jax had so called " battered" his mother.. I agree w Floridachick.. given the circumstances of that night, we now know the mother was schizophrenic. classic sign of schizophrenia is the belief people are trying to conspire against you.. we have to question those charges, he could of also tried to defend himself.
as for the kids going back to the house? sadly we will never know why? Was it they were threatened? or perhaps they were concerned for Jax ( whom they may not have known was already dead) perhaps they were going to try to help her, or talk her out of harming him & her self, or they were in shock who knows?
As for the kids, I think they were & sadly still are misjudged by ignorant people.
The fact that so many people ( 450) black, white, poor, rich, kids & adults) came out to their vigil should speak volumes about what kind of kids these were. They need to be honored & remembered with the highest of dignity & respect. They did not deserve this.
I love Florida's flora and fauna and beautiful scenery, but the people, for the most part, are losers, racists and homophobes. No thanks, as far as I'm concerned Florida does not exist anymore.
That comment is silly and sick. What a broad brush you have painted all Floridians with.
This story is indeed very sad. Here is a mother that looked as if she was at the end of her rope with at least one of the kids but who knows what is really going on inside a home. Not even social services was aware of how dangerous this had become.
15 year old Jaxs seemed to be the catalyst for a lot of the violence that went on in the home. Apparently he had beaten his mother up and had alerted friends that he had done so. If I even looked as if I was going to strike my mother, my other siblings would have killed me!
Sometimes problem kids should be seperated from the home and the other children. She killed him in his bed it seems - the same day that he was supposed to show up in court for abusing his mother.
The father in this family seems to now have a whole lot to say - too bad he did not say it sooner before the violence got this bad.