Dad Fatally Shoots Terminally Ill 11-Year-Old Daughter Before Killing Himself

A terminally ill 11-year-old girl has been shot to death by her father before he turned the gun on himself Monday at their home in Davie, Florida.

The Broward Medical Examiner’s Office Tuesday identified the girl, her parents’ only child, as Angela Ng, who was reportedly diagnosed with cancer in her femur, for which she had undergone chemotherapy and was scheduled for an amputation surgery in Boston, later this month.

Her father, Kenbian Ng, 52, shot her at around 9 a.m. EDT as her mother was cooking breakfast for the family. Angela’s mom found her daughter dead and her husband critically injured after rushing to the spot. Kenbian was taken to a hospital, where he died from his injuries shortly afterward, according to South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

"It was a devastating terminal illness," Davie police spokesman Lt. Mark Leone told the publication, referring to the girl. "She was not going to get any better. It is such a tragic situation, a terrible situation."

The mother, who was distraught, said she heard the sound of gunshots coming from one of the other rooms. "She went in there and was understandably hysterical and called the police," Leone told People.

Leone speculated that Angela’s "debilitating terminal illness" may have triggered Kenbian to take this drastic step. "While we were speaking to the mother we were told that the child has a debilitating terminal illness which is a possibility why this tragic incident occurred," he told NBC 6.

Dr. Kenneth Doka, a Senior Consultant for the Hospice Foundation of America, suspected the father "may have wanted to take both of them out of their misery."

Kenbian’s LinkedIn profile shows that he served in executive positions over the years at many companies dealing in electronic appliances.

Scott Eliason, a psychologist at the Idaho Department of Corrections, told the Sun-Sentinel that murder-suicides involving caregivers were rare. "It’s almost like a lightning strike," Eliason said. "Usually these things are impossible to predict and even if someone has every possible risk factor you can think of for violence or suicide, in the vast majority of cases, they don’t do this."

He said caring for a terminally ill person can potentially lead to depression, a mental state that he termed as "caregiver burnout." "They’re worried about abandoning the person, so that’s where the murder comes in," Eliason added.