And you think you hate your family

[Machine Age Victim]

but seriously

JUPITER, Fla. – Police were searching Friday for a man suspected in the Thanksgiving shooting deaths of his twin sisters, aunt and a 6-year-old cousin during a family celebration.

One of the sisters, Lisa Knight, 33, was pregnant, said Jupiter Police spokeswoman Sally Collins-Ortiz. She did not say how far along the woman was in her pregnancy.

Police said 17 relatives were in the Palm Beach County house when the shootings were reported around 10 p.m. Thursday in Jupiter, a small beach town about 90 miles north of Miami that is best known as a home to celebrities including Michael Jordan and Burt Reynolds.

The little girl was sleeping in her bed when she was shot, police said. A fifth man was critically wounded and a sixth was treated at the scene for a gunshot graze.

Jupiter Police Sgt. Scott Pascarella said officers were looking for Paul Michael Merhige, 35, of Miami. Merhige is a cousin of the 6-year-old victim, Makayla Sitton, and has no criminal record, police said.

The others killed were Merhige's twin sisters, Carla Merhige and Lisa Knight, 33, and an aunt, Raymonde Joseph, 76, according to police.

Authorities said a fifth victim, Merhige's brother-in-law Patrick Knight, was being treated at a hospital. His condition was not available. Another man, Clifford Gebara, 52, was grazed by a bullet and was treated by paramedics at the scene.

Police across South Florida and the U.S. Marshals Service were searching for Merhige. Pascarella said Merhige is believed to be driving a blue 2007 4-door Toyota Camry with Florida license plate W42 7JT.

Pascarella said police received a 911 call from a neighbor shortly after 10 p.m. Police then received a second 911 call from someone within the home, which is owned by a local TV videojournalist and his wife. Makayla Sitton is the photojournalist's daughter.

Pascarella said the shootings took place inside the house. He said that sometime after Thanksgiving dinner, Merhige left the residence and returned shortly afterward with a handgun.

"What led to this incident, we're not quite sure," said Pascarella. "It did not appear there was any altercation prior to this shooting."

Pascarella said there was an "ongoing resentment" in the family, but didn't know the nature of the problem or whether the victims were specifically targeted.

Police said the home was owned by Jim Sitton, a photojournalist for WPTV-TV. Sitton told WPTV his daughter was in bed when she was shot. He was at the party at the time of the shooting but was not wounded.

Yellow crime scene tape was stretched around Sitton's salmon-colored house, located in a well-kept subdivision of stucco homes. Several cars were parked in the driveway, and a crime scene van sat in front.

Sitton told local media that his daughter was supposed to perform Friday in a holiday production of "The Nutcracker."

"God packed a lot of sweetness into that little body," Sitton said. "She's just our life. I don't know how we are ever going to recover."

The relationship between Sitton and Paul Merhige was unclear, police said.

Phone calls to a number listed for Paul Merhige were not answered. A phone call to Sitton also was not returned. At a house in southwest Miami-Dade where family members had gathered late Friday morning, relatives declined to comment.

Neighbors in the Palm Beach County community were shocked.

"Our kids walk the streets by themselves," said Nicole Kemp, 67, who did not know any of the victims. "I thought it was the safest place to live. I guess it doesn't matter, if there's a maniac here."

It's unclear where the adult victims lived. Carla Merhige was a real estate agent in Miami, said a co-worker.

"She was a wonderful agent," said Joanna Sherman, a manager at Coldwell Banker Residential real estate. "She was very active in the community and in charities. She was just a genuine, beautiful individual. She always had a smile for everybody."

This is my town and it's very quiet, just crazy

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[Tilapia]

jupiter? that's tiger woods other home...

[NightHawk]

[Machine Age Victim]

Originally Posted by Tilapia

jupiter? that's tiger woods other home...

yep

[02fastWRBLUE]

^^lol

[KC]

Crandberry? Really?

[mr2guru]

And people at me when I always ccw. Even to family gatherings, social events, weddings, etc....

This is where shootings go down. Wasn't it last year that "santa" killed a bunch of people at a Christmas party?

[Machine Age Victim]

Originally Posted by KC

Crandberry? Really?

took awhile

[quadrozontal_1]

tiger with the "9"iron...?

[StuBeck]

Originally Posted by mr2guru

And people at me when I always ccw. Even to family gatherings, social events, weddings, etc....

This is where shootings go down. Wasn't it last year that "santa" killed a bunch of people at a Christmas party?

I'm pretty sure if someone was going to shoot people at a family gathering, they would target YOU as the first one instead of someone else if you are carrying a weapon.

[super-ru]

Yeah, santa went on a shooting rampage, burned down the house, and commited suicide the next day.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/art...urns_down.html

[mr2guru]

Originally Posted by StuBeck

I'm pretty sure if someone was going to shoot people at a family gathering, they would target YOU as the first one instead of someone else if you are carrying a weapon.

Good. I'll gladly be cannon fodder if it gives my family a chance to get away.

[EnterTheDragon]

spank yo mof'n kids
institutionalize the mental
destroy PC

[industrial]

Originally Posted by Tilapia

jupiter? that's tiger woods other home...

HOLY ****! Don't you see? Tiger did it!

[StuBeck]

Originally Posted by mr2guru

Good. I'll gladly be cannon fodder if it gives my family a chance to get away.

Based on what happened here, it didn't do too much good

[BacDoc]

Didn't this happen last year?

[mannac]

Originally Posted by StuBeck

I'm pretty sure if someone was going to shoot people at a family gathering, they would target YOU as the first one instead of someone else if you are carrying a weapon.

Thus the ccw.

[KC]

Whoops wrong therad!

[steve]

Originally Posted by mr2guru

And people at me when I always ccw. Even to family gatherings, social events, weddings, etc....

Or maybe you're just a sociopathic maniac with self esteem issues like most other self important CCW's who aren't LEOs.

"More guns, that's the secret to happiness!"

[StuBeck]

Originally Posted by mannac

Thus the ccw.

My point was its unlikely you're going to suspect family is going to shot you, and thus not have time to shot them back. If I was crazy and wanted to kill my family, I would go after the guy with a gun first.

[nairbmik]

Originally Posted by hypa

Or maybe you're just a sociopathic maniac with self esteem issues like most other self important CCW's who aren't LEOs.

"More guns, that's the secret to happiness!"

Sociopath? Please. Don't tell me you're one of those BAN ALL GUNS THAT WERE EVER CREATED BECAUSE THEY KILL PEOPLE DURR people.

[StuBeck]

Originally Posted by nairbmik

Sociopath? Please. Don't tell me you're one of those BAN ALL GUNS THAT WERE EVER CREATED BECAUSE THEY KILL PEOPLE DURR people.

Yes, because there is absolutely no difference between not liking people insisting to carry a gun, and someone who thinks all guns ever should be banned.

[Mike Wevrick]

Originally Posted by mr2guru

And people at me when I always ccw. Even to family gatherings, social events, weddings, etc....

This is where shootings go down. Wasn't it last year that "santa" killed a bunch of people at a Christmas party?

If I were that worried about being shot at a family gathering, I just wouldn't go.

[super-ru]

hypa is canadian, he doesn't get it. I have my ccw, i usually leave my weapon at home, but there are times I do pack. My cousin who is also my best friend packs everywhere we go. I feel safer for it, the rest of you can blow me when you get caught up in a random shooting spree and have no defense.

[StuBeck]

I do not believe anyone will be having sexual intercourse if we are caught in a shooting spree.