Girl Shot by Coast Guard Dad Dies 9 Days Later

McKenna Presnar should have spent Christmas Day celebrating with her family. Instead, the 8-year-old succumbed to her injuries Christmas morning at Nicklaus Children's Hospital in Miami—nine days after she was shot by her own father. Police say the case is now a triple murder-suicide, WPLG reports. Police say the girl's father, Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class John Presnar, killed his 39-year-old wife, Gretchen, and John Jr., their 7-year-old son, before fatally shooting himself at their Miami-Dade County home last week. McKenna was hospitalized in critical condition after the shooting.

Police say Presnar, a 44-year-old electronics technician who'd served in the Coast Guard since 2001, shot his family and himself after arguing with his wife in the early hours of Dec. 16. They say his wife urged her mother to run out of the house and call for help. "This incident is a tragedy that impacts an entire community. We all mourn when these tragic events occur," Miami-Dade Police Director Juan Perez tells the Miami Herald. Domestic violence is difficult to prevent, he says, but "as a community, we need to raise awareness to encourage families in need to seek assistance." (More Coast Guard stories.)