Tracy Ataman was home getting ready to take her daughter to high school Thursday when a frantic neighbor ran up to her door shouting.

“The neighbor ran over saying not to come out, that there was someone shooting,” Ataman said.

“It was very chaotic, the police came and told everyone to shelter in place … Just upsetting.”

The scene took place in the aftermath of an attempted murder-suicide reported to Palm Bay police just after 7 a.m.

The shooting shattered the morning quiet, caused a nearby school to be locked down and sent some neighbors running after they heard gunfire.

Police: domestic violence incident

The suspected shooter, police said, is Robert Joseph Franklin Jr. He killed himself after shooting his mother in the chest and his 17-year-old nephew in the leg.

The teen, Tyler Clement, told FLORIDA TODAY he was in the home when his uncle said he was 'tired of living,' and shot his mother in the chest.

Tyler said his uncle wounded him in the leg twice as he ran toward a bedroom and shut the door. Tyler then jumped out a window and ran to a neighbor's home for help.

"I thought I was going to die," he said.

Tyler's grandmother, identified by family members as Barbara Franklin, underwent surgery at Holmes Regional Medical Center for her injuries but remained in critical condition.

Tyler was treated and released from the hospital.

“Everything that we can tell shows it was contained to the house," Palm Bay Police Chief Nelson Moya said during a news conference. "We believe this is a domestic violence incident.

“On scene, hostage negotiators initiated a phone conversation with the suspect and during the process, we believe he committed suicide.”

Robert Franklin's body was found inside the home.

Palm Bay police responded within minutes to the 1600 block of Fallon Boulevard where the shooting was reported, deploying SWAT team members around the one-story home where there was an American flag flying in the front yard.

Officers went through the neighborhood and told worried residents to stay in their homes.

Parents, children took shelter

Farther up the street, parents were walking children to school when suddenly a burst of gunfire rang out.

“I picked up my daughter and started to run to school. Some of the children were scared and confused,” said Tykia Jenkins, who was crossing Babcock Street with her daughter to go to Port Malabar Elementary on the east side of Fallon Boulevard.

Police draped the roadway at Fallon Boulevard and Golden Dove Avenue with crime scene tape. Officers directed traffic along Babcock Street, a major traffic artery, away from the site.

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The home is a few blocks from Port Malabar Elementary School.

The school went briefly on lockdown shortly after the incident occurred, sometime between 7:40 and 8 a.m., according to Nicki Hensley, a spokeswoman for Brevard Public Schools.

The shooting happened during student arrival, Hensley said. Police ushered students into the school, while some parents still waiting to drop off their children were told to stay in their cars.

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Classes resumed after 8 a.m., although staff and students were told to shelter in place. The status was lifted and normal school operations resumed shortly before 8:30 a.m., Hensley said.

The incident also affected some buses at Stone Middle School, she said. The school is about 8 miles away.

Neighbors: suspect 'very friendly'

Neighbors said Robert Franklin — who they called 'Rob' — could be seen out at night walking his dog, a terrier named Buddy.

"I used to see him three times a night out walking his dog. We'd stop and talk. He loved my pet pig, Freckles, and I would give his dog healthy treats," said Marcia Powell, who heard the gunfire while sitting on her front porch Thursday morning.

"He was always by himself. All of this is just really surprising. He was very friendly. When we heard he was barricaded in the house, we were all just worried for him. We wanted him to come out, and then he shot himself. We're just praying for the family."

The site of Thursday's shooting was a few houses away from the residence where a 60-year-old man carried out the double-homicide of his 5 and 10-year-old daughters as he flooded the home with carbon monoxide from his van in 2003.

The father also died in the , leaving neighbors like Ataman shocked in that incident also.

“I remember that,” said Ataman, who has lived in the neighborhood for nearly 30 years.

“I have a baby doll that belonged to one of the daughters. Very sad. It’s all just sad. Some very scary things are happening in our world today. We just need to become one with another. I wish our world would be a better place than what it is.”

Hours later, Tyler returned to the home, walking on crutches, his leg bandaged but still bleeding. In the yard, an American flag flapped along a pole. Several cars were also parked in the yard.

Family members gathered somberly around a table on the screened-in porch. There Tyler talked about how he escaped a confrontation he thought would end in him dying.

Talking about his uncle grew more difficult as he continued describing what happened.

“There’s nothing nice to say about him. He’s crazy…he just shot his mom,” Tyler said, crediting police for their work. “I thought he was going to try to kill me. Honestly, that was the closest I’d ever been to thinking I was going to die,” he said.

Corey Arwood and Eric Rogers contributed to this story. Contact J.D. Gallop at 321-917-4641, jdgallop@floridatoday.com or Twitter @JDGallop