A Florida family’s gathering turned tragic when their elderly mother became the victim of a brazen attack involving a frying pan in the quiet city of Sunrise.
Woman and son attacked with frying pan
Fiorella Lopez explained to NBC Miami how her 75-year-old mother was violently attacked while walking along a sidewalk near their home on June 10.
Lopez explained that the family had been preparing for a birthday party when her sister, who was waiting at the home’s entrance, noticed someone acting erratically a couple of doors down.
“She’s walking alone, and my sister, who’s waiting for her at the entrance, notices someone two doors down, behaving strangely, and she begins to signal to my mother, who’s innocently walking,” Lopez told reporters.
Chilling video captured the moment Lopez’s mother, in an attempt to avoid the individual in question, was approached by the shirtless suspect.
At that point, 26-year-old Carlos Hurtado Florez, grabbed the senior citizen by her dress collar and brought a frying pan down on her head. She immediately fell to the ground.
When Lopez’s brother ran to intervene and protect their mother, Florez allegedly turned his aggression toward him as well.
According to Lopez, the suspect inflicted severe injuries on her brother during the altercation.
“And at that moment, my brother arrived, and he attacked my brother too. He also smashed his head in,” Lopez disclosed.
Woman left with multiple injuries following frying pan attack
Images shared with the media revealed extensive injuries suffered by the elderly woman, whose face and leg were covered in bruises.
Lopez described the extent of her family’s injuries, stating, “My mother has several bruises on her face and leg. My brother’s head was split open.”
The Lopez family had moved to South Florida from Venezuela in search of what they believed would be a safer life, but the attack has left them shaken to their core.
“We came here for peace. We never imagined something like this could happen to our mother,” Lopez remarked.
The Sunrise Police Department revealed additional details about Florez’s actions leading up to the assault.
The suspect had reportedly attacked his brother inside their home and vandalized his car immediately preceding the frying pan assault.
Authorities later apprehended Florez, charging him with aggravated battery on a person 65 years of age or older, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, false imprisonment, and two additional counts of battery.
Lopez said that Florez’s criminal history includes prior offenses, which adds to the family’s unease following the attack.
“We don’t know these people,” Lopez said, referring to the suspect. “The only thing that because it’s public record that he had, he already was involved in a crime last year. What I saw, he didn’t stay more than a month in the jail. So we are scared.”
North Carolina woman and son killed by neighbor
Meanwhile, a separate incident in North Carolina similarly shocked locals when an ongoing dispute turned deadly.
On Sunday evening, 63-year-old Teresa Davis and her son, 26-year-old Joseph Jeffreys Jr., lost their lives following a violent altercation over garbage.
Police determined the suspect, Michael Sharron Wright, to be Davis’ neighbor.
Authorities said the incident began when Jeffreys approached Wright over a disagreement concerning garbage cans thrown into Davis’ yard.
According to family and friends speaking with WNCN, Wright allegedly used Jeffreys’ own firearm to shoot both Davis and her son.
When paramedics arrived the mother and son were pronounced dead at the scene.
“It was over trash over some freakin’ trash,” Tennisha Eaton, a friend of Davis, told the outlet. “This woman is gone. This boy is gone, over some trash.”
To make matters worse, Eaton said the horrific incident unfolded in front of Jeffreys’ three young children, leaving them as direct witnesses to the tragedy.
“That’s so heartbreaking for the grandkids to be in the car, his kids to see their daddy and their grandmother get killed. That’s senseless,” she added.
Law enforcement classified Wright as armed and dangerous and began their manhunt.
Records revealed Wright’s violent past, having been convicted in 2010 for murdering his uncle, 54-year-old Kirk Douglas Wright Sr.
The then-26-year-old Wright was arrested after authorities uncovered his uncle’s remains buried in a shallow grave behind the family home.
Wright eventually turned himself in on Monday but in an unusual manner.
Granville County Sheriff Robert Fountain shared details about the suspect’s surrender, revealing that Wright requested to deal directly with him.
“Around 8 o’clock I received another phone call from an individual identifying himself as Mr. Michael Wright,” Fountain detailed.
“He told me to start heading toward Louisburg and he would give me further instructions on where he would be once I got there.”
After directing the sheriff to meet him in a restaurant parking lot, Wright was taken into custody without additional confrontation.
He is currently being held in the Granville County Detention Center without bond.
