Florida mother fatally shot while defending her children during a domestic argument about an NFL game.

Tragic Incident at Pol County Home

A Florida mother is being remembered as a hero after she was fatally shot while trying to protect her children during a domestic dispute linked to alcohol and football.

Jason Kenney, aged 47, fatally shot his wife, Crystal Loure, 38, before turning the gun on himself just days before Christmas, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.

On the night of December 22, 2025, Kenney had been drinking and watching Monday Night Football in a shed at their home in Highland City. When he returned inside towards the end of the game, a disagreement erupted after Loure expressed her disinterest in football.

During the escalating fight, Loure instructed her 12-year-old son to seek help from a neighbor and call 911. As the child attempted to escape, she suddenly heard a gunshot.

Authorities later found Loure dead from a gunshot wound in the living room, while her 13-year-old daughter was discovered in her bed with two gunshot wounds. Luckily, their one-year-old child was found asleep and unharmed in a crib.

The daughter survived the ordeal after a bullet ricocheted off her nose and grazed her head, as revealed by Sheriff Grady Judd during a press conference.

“She pleaded, ‘Please don’t shoot, don’t shoot,’ but he shot her anyway,” Judd recounted regarding Kenney’s stepdaughter.

Officers also came across a letter addressed to Kenney, which mentioned, “When I drink alcohol, I use cocaine again. This isn’t how families should be. You need God.”

After the shooting, Kenney reportedly fled the scene and contacted his sister, admitting, “I did something really bad and I’m not going to jail.” He drove to his late father’s residence in Lake Wales, and upon entering a cabin, stated, “I’ll see it on the news.”

When law enforcement arrived and called for Kenney to come out, a gunshot rang out. He was later discovered deceased from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

“He completely destroyed his family,” Judd remarked. “You walk in there, and there’s a beautiful Christmas tree with presents underneath. It seemed like a typical family, but this is the outcome.”

Relatives informed investigators that Kenney had a history of abusing Loure, although there were no recorded domestic violence reports involving them. Notably, Kenney did not have a prior criminal record.

The Polk County Sheriff’s Office has not yet responded to requests for further information.

Loure’s sister, Stephanie Ruhl, reflected on the situation by saying, “She told me he had started drinking more after they got married but believed he would stop with her help. Clearly, that didn’t happen.”