16-year-old girl shot her mother and her boyfriend, Palm Bay police said

PALM BAY, Florida. — Police have arrested a Palm Bay teen accused of shooting her mother and her mother’s boyfriend Saturday before making a false 911 call, according to records obtained by News 6 partner Florida Today.

The 16-year-old is accused of malicious assault and will remain in custody until a hearing at the juvenile detention center later this month, when the 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office will decide whether to charge her as an adult.

Investigators said the girl shot her mother, Kelly McCollom, 42, and then shot the mother’s boyfriend, Matthew Szejnrok, 22. She stabbed him multiple times and shot him again before he died at the scene on Benchor Road. The motive was her alleged disapproval of her mother dating a 22-year-old man, Florida Today reported.

According to police, the teen called 911 shortly after midnight, crying hysterically and claiming a man had broken into her home. Officers responded quickly and found the bodies of McCollom and Szejnrok upon arrival. When she met with police outside the home – officers inside the home soon discovered bloody footprints that matched the girl’s shoes – the teen told investigators she hid in her room with her dog while an unknown burglar ransacked the house.

Citing arrest records, the Florida Today report said the teenager used a chef’s knife and a .38-caliber pistol that she stole from her mother’s bedroom.

Read more on Florida Today.

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