FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – There are still more questions than answers in the murder-suicide and a home set on fire in Fort Lauderdale, but some details are emerging about the couple at the center of the tragedy.
Friends tell Local 10 News that Richard Kenneth McDonald and Gwendolyn Bass-Kemp, both 71, were a couple who lived in the house on the 1700 block of NW 27th Terrace and had been together for years.
On Thursday night at 8:30 p.m., Fort Lauderdale police received a call about a shooting at the home in the Lake Aire neighborhood.
Investigators said when they arrived, McDonald grabbed a gun, barricaded himself in the home and ultimately set the house on fire before turning the gun on himself.
[RELATED: ‘Loss is tragic’: Victim worked for nearly 20 years for city of Fort Lauderdale]
Investigators say that when police arrived on the scene, McDonald got a gun, barricaded himself inside the residence, and then set it on fire.
“The suspect who barricaded himself, exited the home and he shot himself in the front area of the home. The adult female was inside of the home,” according to Detective Ali Adamson, a spokeswoman for FLPD.
Bass-Kemp, who worked as a billing specialist for Fort Lauderdale fire rescue, was found dead inside the home. Both the suspected shooter and his victim grew up in the Lake Aire neighborhood. Bass-Kemp’s father, James Bass, was Fort Lauderdale’s first Black dentist. Only a minute away from the home is Bass Park, which is named after the renowned dentist and philanthropist.
It was the woman’s son who called 911 and those calls were released on Friday.
CALLER: “He pulled a gun out on me . . . like he is a military vet . . . I know he has a license to carry or whatever.”
CALLER: “Shut up dude! The only reason I’m leaving is because he pulled a gun on me!”
“They seemed like a regular couple. Did they have their issues? Like everybody.”
Edward Rebholz, a friend of the couple, told Local 10 News that he was shocked when he heard what had happened.
“I believe they enjoyed each other’s company. I don’t understand what happened here,” he said. “They seemed like a regular couple. Did they have their issues? Like everybody.”
According to Adamson, investigators are working the case to find out if the report they originally responded to was the shooting of Bass-Kemp and to determine a motive.
“At this time we’re still working to determine if the shooting we originally responded to was the female that was found deceased. We believe that to be the case at this time, but we have to confirm that with the fire and the damage that the fire caused. It can make the investigation a little more complicated,” said Adamson.
Bass-Kemp’s family released a statement to Local 10 News which read, in part:
“With the tragic passing of Gwen, the world has lost a shining light, and our family grieves the loss of a daughter, a sister, a mother and a grandmother. Gwen was the very best of all of us. We will miss her contagious smile, her infectious laugh and her endless love for her family.”
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