Jason Deischer’s 4-year-old daughter smiled as she sprinted toward him outside their Hawthorne home Saturday — just 500 yards from the site of a shooting that left a young woman dead late Friday night.
In the small Bella Meadows housing community off U.S. Route 301, news of the apparent homicide didn’t alarm Deischer, even after hearing that the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office had yet to apprehend a suspect.
“They’ll catch him, eventually,” he said, while walking his 3-year-old Shepherd, Hoss. “I have no doubt about that.”
Deputies continue to investigate the death of 23-year-old Christin Marie Cassels, who was found shot and killed outside her home late Friday night, just four days before her birthday, said ACSO Sgt. Chris Sims.
At about 11:25 p.m., deputies responded to reports of a person shot at the 7800 block of SE U.S. Route 301, according to an ACSO press release.
The suspect, or suspects, fled prior to the deputies’ arrival. ACSO’s air unit, SWAT team and K-9 unit are conducting an active search, according to the release.
The shooting is being investigated as a homicide, Sims said.
“This is an active and ongoing investigation,” he said, adding that updates to the case would be announced Monday morning.
By Saturday afternoon, forensics unit personnel were still present at Cassel’s home, which is located next to St. Philip Neri Catholic Church. A group of adults and children who were gathered on the house’s porch steps and front lawn declined to comment.
In the Bella Meadows neighborhood, where Deischer, 4-year-old Raven and Hoss enjoyed the quiet afternoon outdoors, other residents also seemed unshaken by the late-night shooting and at-large suspect or suspects.
At the home next door to Deischer’s, a family threw a birthday party on their back lawn with a red-and-yellow bounce-house slide and decorated tables. A woman who answered the door, who declined to comment further, said she was “sort of, kinda” worried about the potential of having a suspect on the loose in her area.
Deischer, who said his father served in the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, said although deputies have yet to locate the suspect or suspects of the nearby shooting, he’s not on high alert.
“Crime happens,” he said. “Nothing surprising about it.”
Martin Vassolo contributed to this report.
