FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A fire turned a home mostly into ashes in Fort Lauderdale amid a tragedy that hit home for city employees and a family ahead of Mother’s Day celebrations.
The home was where detectives found a woman dead and where a suspect who refused to surrender killed himself on Thursday night in the Lake Aire community, police said.
Fort Lauderdale officials identified the woman who died on Thursday as Gwendolyn Bass Kemp, a beloved city employee, and colleague.
“The home was completely burned because of the delay of making sure it was safe for our firefighters to enter,” Fire Chief Stephen Gollan said about the Thursday night fire.
It was arson. A gunman refused to exit the home and set it on fire before he shot himself in front of it, police said.
Fort Lauderdale police officers responded to the home at about 8:30 p.m., on Thursday, to investigate a report of a shooting. The case later evolved into a murder-suicide investigation, a fire investigation, and a tragedy for City Hall.
Detectives were asking anyone with information about the case to call Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477.