The 1,600-square-foot house at 16 Zircon Court in Palm Coast was the target of a shooting early Sunday morning. Nine bullet holes were detected.
Five people were reported to be in the house at the time of the shooting, ranging in age from 19 to 71. There were no injuries. A surveillance video system was operational, with functional cameras outside the house, but occupants of the house told Flagler County Sheriff’s deputies that they’d turned off the system, albeit after the time of the shooting. Then deputies found that footage had been deleted, according to their report.
Occupants blamed a neighbor for the shooting. There’s been no arrests.
The county’s 911 center received several calls from the Zircon Court area around 1:48 a.m. Sunday, reporting that they heard what sounded like gunshots. Two deputies responded, patrolled the area and reported seeing nothing suspicious.
A deputy followed up the next day, meeting with Michael Kittrell, 71, who’s owned the house with his wife since 2003. Kittrell’s 24-year-old Grandson had woken him up and told him of the gunshots. Kittrell said he “he expected a deputy to make contact with him last night but one never made contact with him.”
Regarding the shooting, Kittrell said he’d heard what sounded to him like something large falling in his grandson’s room. His wife spoke of hearing multiple shots, and another occupant said he’d heard a “pop. The two other residents said they’d heard nothing. When asked to write out statements, Kittrell and Austin White, 21, one of the residents who said he hadn’t heard anything declined to do so.
The residents said that White “had a standing feud with a neighbor of theirs,” according to the report, and that the neighbor, a 19-year-old who lives a few doors down, may have been responsible. (Both White and the neighbor have arrest records.) They blamed the neighbor for stealing a bicycle and shooting at a school bus with a BB gun. Two teens were arrested for firing at a school bus with a BB gun last year. The neighbor they were accusing was not one of them.
The investigation turned up two points of impact on the upper left portion of the stucco doorway, three bullet holes in the aluminum screen door, and three bullet holes in
the glass window on the east side of the house, near the south corner. There also appeared to be a point of impact between the glass window and the aluminum screen door on the house. “The total number of apparent impact sites or bullet holes I observed is seven,” the deputy reported.
Several additional deputies arrived, as did the crime scene investigator and detectives.
Seven brass shell casings were recovered from the pavement on Zircon Court.
When the investigator first asked the residents if the two security cameras outside the house were operational, they told him that they were, but that they’d been turned off at night because the monitor is in one of the residents’ room, and the light from it keeps him up. The residents said the cameras don’t function without the monitor running. But when a deputy again asked about the surveillance cameras, this time he was told the cameras were turned off “allegedly around 2:30 a.m.,” about half an hour after the reported shots.
Kittrell gave permission to access the recordings and the storage card, “but it appeared the footage during the time of the incident had already been deleted,” the report states. The card was submitted into evidence. As the investigation continued, two more bullet holes were discovered.
HayRide says
they must be very nice people
Richard says
Anyone with half a brain and a smidgen of computer knowledge knows that when you delete a file it is not really completely deleted and can be recovered. The file pointer has been erased but the file is still there unless it has been overwritten for some reason. Any forensics performed on the disk will find the missing footage and the “rest of the story will be told”.
One of their neighbors says
So, they’re blaming the neighbor, huh? Well maybe they can tell us why they drove by us while walking our dog and threw a firecracker at us? Why have the other neighbors told us about the amount of cars speeding down this cul-de-sac, going to and from that house? I smell a cover up attempt and I pray the Sheriff doesn’t fall for it. Time to clean up this otherwise peaceful neighborhood.
payback says
Sounds to me like the video showed who did it and the occupants my be planning their own revenge
Coyote says
‘Kittrell gave permission to access the recordings and the storage card, “but it appeared the footage during the time of the incident had already been deleted,” the report states. The card was submitted into evidence. ‘
Well, unless someone did a deep security wipe on the the storage card, the data should be recoverable by any date-recovery company – even if the card had been re-formatted. Be interesting to see what was being deleted. And, if it *was* a deep security wipe, then the question arises of Why? did someone take the time and trouble to perform the wipe?
ASF says
Clueless grandparents raising sociopathic grandchildren…what could go wrong?
Jolene R Dehart says
Had cameras but “shut them off” kinda defeats their purpose, footage deleted. What a bunch of bogus B.S., should have to pay for the 911 response.
Jolene R Dehart says
Cameras shut off, footage deleted. What a bunch of hokey bogus B.S. Maybe they shot up their own house. Should have to pay for the emergency response.
Brian says
Typical shady activity in lovely Sketchy Coast, Florida……
HonkeyDude says
Who cares!?!? If they don’t, why waste the money on a investigation? Let them sort it out and just pick 🆙 the bodies!
ASF says
And I bet they all have clean records…NOT.
Lovely Lady says
Who cares? The people who live in proximity to this house is who! We normally have a very peaceful neighborhood except for this house and the one a few doors down where one of those kids stole a bike out of a garage and robbed a house of $15,000 of jewelry and ammo. He’s still in jail. The kid in the shot up house hid the items for the thief and he went to jail for awhile. If you don’t care, please give us your address and they can live near you.
capt says
Looks like more quality Palm Coast residents doing what they do best, shoot outs.
Steve Ward says
Upstanding citizens I’m sure
Anonymous says
Sounds to me like the grandson knows who did and probably why it was done. I wonder if someone in the house was injured would he tell the truth then?
hawkeye says
this smells of something to do with drugs
Bill g says
So ya think palm coast is still a paradise?
Anonymous says
Nice misfit neighborhood to live in . It seems like they are well educated people in that red neck area
Bill says
WOW Sounds like Grandpa and Grandma need to tell the kiddies to MOVE out. IMO sounds as if somebody in the house doesn’t want the cops to see what may have happened.
Clara says
Lovely Lady, what an awful situation for neighbors like you. Terrible! I hope they recover the deleted footage and the criminals get locked up! Scary and so unfair for the neighbors!