'This has hit everyone to the core': Orlando family speaks after mother, daughter killed in deadly shooting
Orlando family speaks after mother, daughter killed in deadly shooting
The family of a mother and daughter who were shot and killed in Orange County are speaking out. Deputies say 20-year-old Tanga Owens and her mother 39-year-old Tanishia Starr were found shot at Lake Sherwood Apartments off of Apopka-Vineland Road.
ORLANDO, Fla. - The family of a mother and daughter who were shot and killed in Orange County are speaking out.
Deputies say 20-year-old Tanga Owens and her mother 39-year-old Tanishia Starr were found shot earlier this week at Lake Sherwood Apartments off of Apopka-Vineland Road. They were transported to a hospital but were later pronounced deceased.
The family said the man who shot them is the father of Owens's child.
"This has hit everyone to the core," said family friend Jarvis Scott. "Anytime you lose a family member it’s hard but losing a family member of this magnitude not just one but two is beyond devastating."
Scott said the mother and daughter were inseparable and brought joy to their entire family.
"Tangie and Starr were like two peas in a pod. They both were phenomenal mothers," said Scott.
Deputies say 20-year-old Tanga Owens and her mother 39-year-old Tanishia Starr were found shot earlier this week at Lake Sherwood Apartments off of Apopka-Vineland Road. They were transported to a hospital but were later pronounced deceased. [Credit:
Radrick Francois, 20, is accused of fatally shooting Owens and Starr late Friday morning while they were inside a car outside an Orlando apartment complex, according to the Orange County Sheriff's Office.
According to the arrest affidavit, security footage shows the victims in a vehicle that witnesses say was the location used as a pickup and drop-off location for child custody exchanges between Francois and Owens. Deputies said Francois approached the vehicle and after some interaction, he shot into the car, then left the scene taking a 2-year-old child in his arms back to his apartment. There was another 8-month-old boy in a car seat at the time of the shooting, but he was not injured.
The family said Owens and Francois are the parents of the toddler. The 8-month-old was also Owens's child.
"A lot of people say a senseless act. I say a cowardly act," Scott said. "They were loved. We loved them, and we will be assured that justice be served."
Francois was charged with two counts of first-degree murder.