Coast Guard member kills wife, 7-year-old son, self amid domestic dispute: police

John Stanley Presnar, 44, had served in the U.S. Coast Guard since 2001 as an electronics technician, officials say. (U.S. Coast Guard)

A U.S. Coast Guard member fatally shot his wife and 7-year-old son before turning the gun on himself, authorities said Sunday.

Police said the man also shot his 8-year-old daughter, but she survived. The girl was airlifted to a hospital in critical condition, the Miami Herald reported.

Miami-Dade police identified the shooter as 44-year-old John Stanley Presnar, who had served since 2001 as an electronics technician.

Police say an argument between Presnar and his wife escalated and her mother ran from the home. When officers arrived, they found the bodies and the wounded girl inside. Presnar was reportedly found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

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Presnar’s wife was identified as 39-year-old Gretchen Presnar. The children's names were not released.

“When the subject started shooting, his wife told her mother to run out of the house and call for help,” police told the Herald.

The shootings happened in the Presnars' southwest Miami-Dade residence, South Florida's Sun-Sentinel reported.

Coast Guard spokesman Ryan Kelley said the Coast Guard was “deeply saddened by this tragedy and our hearts go out to the family members of those who were killed. We continue to pray for and offer the full support of the Coast Guard to the young child fighting for her life.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.