News

Dad Shot 3-Year-Old Girl After She Excitedly Greeted Him in Horrific Murder-Suicide

NewsPublished Jul 25, 2019
By Kaitlin Stanford
Photo of a smiling Cherish Jackson before her deathCasey Scott/Facebook

A toddler named Cherish lost her life Monday night, just days after her father, Terrence Jackson, shot her twice in the head. It happened in broad daylight on Saturday, shortly after the 3-year-old ran out of her home in Escambia County, Florida, to greet her father. Though she clung to life for two days, the little girl ultimately succumbed to her injuries.

After firing twice at his little girl, Jackson then turned the gun on himself, in what witnesses called a "horrific" scene.

The murder-suicide has shocked the small Mayfair community, as many grapple with just why -- and how -- a father could do such a thing.

"Cherish ran out to the car crying, ‘Daddy, Daddy,’" said one neighbor, who asked not to be named. "She was all happy to see him."

The 22-year-old father was reportedly there to take his little girl to the store. Instead, he took out a pistol and shot her. According to Pensacola News-Journal, they had walked just about 100 yards from where Cherish lived with her mother, Casey Scott, when the shooting happened.

"I know he said something to [Cherish] right before he shot her because I saw her look up at him," one neighbor told WEAR-TV. "That image of her looking at him is etched into my mind forever."

Mere seconds later, Jackson shot himself, and he was pronounced dead once first responders arrived. 

"Both bodies were laying in the street," the neighbor said. "It was horrific."

Little Cherish was badly wounded but was rushed to Sacred Heart Hospital, where doctors continued to do all they could to save her.

But on Monday, the little girl lost her fight.

“She fought hard to stay here with us,” Scott, told the Pensacola **News Journal. “It just wasn’t meant for her to be.”

Following her death, friends, family, and neighbors gathered at a nearby park where they held a candlelight vigil in the little girl's honor. Pink balloons were released into the sky as the crowd sang “Amazing Grace” in unison.

Jackson's motive remains unclear, not just to investigators but also to friends and neighbors who continue to search for clues.

Although Jackson was separated from Cherish's mother, none of the neighbors who've spoken out so far mentioned any signs that could have pointed to this.

"He was just here on his daughter's birthday," the same neighbor told WEAR-TV. "He didn't have a gun then. I think he came over with this already planned. Why else would you bring a gun?"

Another neighbor, Lillian Randall, told WEAR-TV that she lives in the same apartment complex as Cherish and her mother, and that her own daughter used to play with the little girl.

"I have no idea why this happened," Randall said. "If [Jackson] wanted to do something, he should have just done it to himself and not the baby."

One neighbor expressed anguish over how to tell her own daughters what happened to their friend.

"What am I supposed to tell my girls when they ask to play with Cherish?" the neighbor asked. "This is a story you should never have to tell your kids."

As for Cherish's mother, she is doing her best to carry on, despite her immense grief.

“I’ve been holding my head high,” Scott said at the vigil Monday evening. “I know that my baby wouldn’t want us out here crying. Wouldn’t want us out here struggling. Wouldn’t want us out here breaking down. As you can see, she was a fighter."

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