Woman shot dead while daughter on school Zoom call with teacher and pupils

Martin County Sheriff's Office
Kit Heren13 August 2020

A woman was shot dead in her US home while her 10-year-old daughter was taking part in an online Zoom class with teachers and other pupils, police say.

Maribel Rosado Morales, 32, was shot twice in Indiantown, Florida, after the man, suspected of being her ex-boyfriend, stormed into her property at around 8am local time on Tuesday.

Ms Morales' daughter was taking part in the remote lessons with staff at Warfield Elementary School when a teacher heard a disturbance on the Zoom call.

The teacher muted the girl's audio but then saw the girl cover her ears before the screen went blank, Martin County Sheriff's Office added.. Officers later said the computer was hit by a bullet.

Ms Morales ex-boyfriend Donald Williams, 27, has been arrested. Williams has made a "full confession", detectives said, and has been charged with first-degree murder.

Donald Williams
Martin County Sheriff's Office

Sheriff William Snyder said: "There was some type of argument. He went in and confronted her with something to do with a video. He says she actually started to smile at him, and he became enraged and shot her."

The shooting took place in front of four of Ms Morales' children and two young cousins, police said.

One of her sons tried to stab Williams with a kitchen knife after the shooting. The boy told detectives he dropped the knife and raised his hands after Williams pointed his gun at him. None of the children were injured, police said.

Besides the murder charge, Williams also faces two counts of aggravated assault, one count of burglary and one count of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. He previously served two years in prison for burglary and was released in 2014.

The Warfield Elementary School and the Martin County School District said in a statement: "Our deepest sympathies and condolences go out to the victim's family, including the children present in the home who were witnesses to this heart-breaking and senseless tragedy.

"We have our grief team deployed to assist students and staff who will undoubtedly feel the impact of this horrible incident. We stand ready to assist and offer support in any way we can."