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CNN Live At Daybreak

Mother Shoots 6-Year-Old Son Dead, 16-Year-Old Survives Attack

Aired September 03, 2001 - 08:05   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Police in Florida are trying to figure out why a mother apparently went on a rampage to kill her children. Authorities say she fatally shot her youngest son, then fired at her teenage son, but his Bible took the blast and saved his life.

Bonnie Kinney (ph) of CNN affiliate WBBH has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, I mean, how could they bring himself to do this. I don't understand it.

BONNIE KINNEY (ph), WBBH REPORTER (voice-over): It's a question both residents and investigators are asking as deputies piece together why 39-year-old Leslie Wallace allegedly went on a shooting spree.

Here's what police say happened: First, she shoots and kills her six-year-old son, James, at this house in North Fort Myers.

GOERGETTE MITTASCH, RESIDENT: When it hits home, it's like a nightmare. It's like, what was that? I just can't imagine.

KINNEY: Next, she heads to New Wine Ministries to find her 16- year-old son, Kenneth, who is attending a service there. She shoots him. He suffers only minor injuries. As fate would have it, he is carrying this Bible, a religious token that takes the bullet, sparing his life.

MITTASCH: I'll tell you, the Lord is on his side.

KINNEY: Next, Wallace heads to this Pizza Hut in North Fort Myers. She asks for Gregory, her 19-year-old son, who works here. He won't come outside. He is on the phone with police dispatch, who warns him.

SHERIFF ROD SHOAP, LEE COUNTY, FLORIDA: We believe she was going to try to shoot him there too.

KINNEY: Finally, Wallace heads across the Caloosahatchee Bridge. Police are able to stop her. They say she draws a 16-gauge shotgun and fires at deputies.

SHOAP: She fired that round, then one of our deputies fired several rounds, some of them striking her.

KINNEY: Folks nearby hear the gunshots and the screaming.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was just like a terrorizing scream that something was happening out of control.

KINNEY: Wallace is taken to the hospital. Meanwhile, police continued to investigate all three crime scenes, trying to find out what would drive a mother of three to do this.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Hospital officials say the mother, Leslie Wallace, is in serious condition this morning after undergoing surgery.

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