Advertisement Father, 2 children dead in apparent murder-suicide Third child in stable condition at hospital Share Shares Copy Link Copy

Two children and their father are dead, and one child is in stable condition after an apparent murder-suicide at their home in Port Orange, according to the Volusia County Sheriff's Office.David Mohney, 52, shot his three children and then turned the gun on himself just after 5 a.m. Friday, deputies said.Images: Deputies investigate murder-suicide at homeDeputies said they responded to a call about a domestic disturbance at the home on Jackson Lane.Investigators said Mohney's wife, 48-year-old Cynthia Mohney, ran to a neighbor's house for help after getting into an argument with her husband. She told the neighbor her husband was threatening her with a handgun, and the neighbor called 911."Do you think he'll harm the kids?" the dispatcher asked."Yes, he will," Cynthia Mohney can be heard saying in the background.At the end of the call, Cynthia Mohney can be heard yelling to call an ambulance.Deputies walked into a grim scene a short time later and found David Mohney dead in the kitchen with the handgun next to him. His two daughters were found in an upstairs bedroom, and his son was found in a bedroom on the first floor. All had gunshot wounds.Full video: Sheriff says 3 dead, 1 critical in apparent murder-suicideSavanna Mohney, 14, and David Mohney, 11, were dead, and 9-year-old Lauren Mohney was taken to Arnold Palmer Children's Hospital, where she was listed in stable condition."It's basically a cowardly event. If you want to commit suicide, then commit suicide. But to shoot children, that's cowardly," said Volusia County Sheriff Ben Johnson.Johnson said Cynthia Mohney is aware that two of her children are dead. She is being interviewed by authorities.Cypress Creek Elementary, Creekside Middle School and Spruce Creek High School, where the children went to school, were all notified. An automated call was sent to parents with children at the school.Savanna was a ninth-grade honors student who ran on the cross-country team at Spruce Creek High School. In a message to parents, the school's principal said she was liked and respected by her teachers and classmates. David was a sixth-grader and Lauren is a fourth-grader.Crisis counselors will be at the schools Friday and the beginning of next week."We talk with them in groups. We talk with them individually. We'll help them try to deal with it. There's no way to make sense of it. We just help them try to deal with it so that they can get back to normal," said Nancy Wait, with Volusia County Schools.Johnson said there has been at least one previous domestic violence incident at the house. David Mohney was granted a temporary injunction for protection against his wife in early June. He claimed she was abusive to him and the children, but two weeks later, he asked the court to dismiss the order, and that request was granted.Deputies said David Mohney was in the process of getting a divorce with his wife and that he initiated the divorce. In the filing from May, he said his wife had agreed to move to Florida so he could become a chiropractor, and then they'd move back to the Midwest. He said in the filing that she was opposed to relocating from Florida.There was a hearing scheduled in the divorce proceedings Thursday.David Mohney was a 2013 graduate of Palmer Chiropractic. A spokesperson said he was known on campus, but there were no reports of any difficulties. The spokesperson said they are devastated.