'I didn't shed a tear': Smiling suspect with head 'shaped like a football' accused of murdering 2-year-old girl, wounding her grandparents after he broke into their home

A 37-year-old Florida antheral allegedly broke into the location of a multigenerational household and shot a 2-year-old miss dormant and wounded her grandparents.

Clifford Long was indicted for first-degree murder successful the decease of Bles'Syn Lightner on with 2 counts of attempted murder. According to a probable origin apprehension affidavit, Melbourne constabulary responded astir 10:40 p.m. Aug. 29 to a location successful the 900 artifact of Poplar Lane for a shooting.

When officers arrived, they recovered a 48-year-old pistillate and a 54-year-old antheral suffering from gunshot wounds. The victims were earnestly injured but conscious. Cops past recovered Bles'Syn successful a chamber suffering from a gunshot coiled to her forehead. Paramedics pronounced her dormant astatine the scene.

There were besides 4 different adults and 2 different children astatine location astatine the time, each of them uninjured. Bles'Syn had just celebrated her birthday 4 days earlier her decease and lived astatine the location with her parents, who were astatine a performance astatine the clip of the shooting, and her grandparents.  There were nary signs of forced introduction astatine the location and the surviving victims initially denied knowing who changeable them.

But successful consequent interviews, the antheral unfortunate identified the shooter arsenic Long, who is known arsenic "Goof."

"It is worthy noting, Clifford Long's quality identically matches [the victim's] statement of the fishy arsenic being a tall, thin, light-skinned [B]lack antheral with a caput shaped 'like a football,'" investigators wrote.

The surviving antheral said helium saw Long shooting his granddaughter earlier helium stepped implicit the girl's assemblage and started firing astatine him, according to the affidavit.

Long aboriginal allegedly admitted to his member that helium killed the girl, saying "They wouldn't travel disconnected that money," indicating that the imaginable motive for the shooting was related to a robbery oregon drugs. He besides allegedly told his member that helium didn't mean to termination Bles'Syn.

About a week aft the shooting, Long and his member allegedly stabbed a stateless antheral implicit 30 times and chopped disconnected his digit with a machete implicit a drug-related dispute.

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When interviewed by cops astir the alleged murder, helium denied engagement and claimed helium was astatine a state presumption astatine the clip of the crime. He said helium knew Bles'Syn's begetter but did not cognize the household precise well, though helium heard astir what happened.

"To beryllium honorable with you, I didn't shed a teardrop but my condolences to the family," helium said, per cops.

Long has been successful the Brevard County Jail for the machete onslaught since September. He remains down bars without bond. His adjacent tribunal day is acceptable for May 20.