Hospital Director, 4-Year-Old Son Dead After Ex-Boyfriend Turns Breakup Into an 'Unimaginable Tragedy'
A woman and her 4-year-old son were gunned down Friday at an ATM in West Kendall, Florida, by a man who then killed himself.
Police said Michael Andres Pineda Lozano, 41, who fired the shots, was the ex-boyfriend of Odalys Bancroft, 43, according to WTVJ-TV.
Bancroft and her son, Theodore Couto 4, were in a minivan that had pulled up to a Chase Bank ATM when the shooting took place.
Lozano pulled up alongside her, and fired, killing Bancroft and Couto, before turning the gun on himself.
Devastated loved ones opened up and shared their grief, one day after, police said, Odalys Bancroft and her 3-year-old son Theodore were fatally gunned down at a drive-thru ATM in Southwest Miami-Dade by a man who then turned the gun on himself. https://t.co/VpK7qhEPzD
— WSVN 7 News (@wsvn) June 9, 2024
“There were some concerns about him, but nothing that stuck out like this,” Bancroft’s brother, Michael Trujillo, said.
“They were going through a breakup, but no signs that I was aware of that there was fear like that,” he said.
“Never in a million years would I expect anything like this to happen,” Trujillo added.
“I just can’t imagine any situation that would bring a normal person to do this sort of thing to a woman and her child,” a shell shocked Trujillo said.
Bancroft was the director of regulatory affairs at Jackson Health System.
Bancroft had obtained a restraining order against Lozano, according to the U.K. Daily Mail.
“Today, our family is facing an unimaginable tragedy. Vicente Couto has lost his only son, Theodore Couto. There are no words to express the depth of our sorrow. Theodore was a bright light in our lives, and his sudden departure has left us shattered,” the GoFundMe page set up for the child’s father said.
“Please keep our family in your thoughts and prayers. Hold your loved ones close, and cherish every moment together,” the page said.
The slain boy’s aunt, whose name was not used, told WSVN-TV that the two “didn’t deserve to die like this.”
“My nephew, he was the best kid in the world. He was fun, smart, everything that you can imagine about him,” the woman said, noting that the boy had just celebrated graduating from pre-K.
“He was so excited, and he was asking, ‘Why is everybody giving me gifts? Why do I look so pretty today?’” his aunt said.
The aunt described Bancroft as “a great mom, she was a great nurse, she was a great sister, she was amazing.”
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