BELL, Fla. – The small town of Bell, Florida, is trying to come to grips with a horrific mass slaying that left six children and two adults dead.
The Gilchrist County Sheriff's Office believes 51-year-old Don Charles Spirit shot and killed his daughter and her six children before killing himself Thursday afternoon.
[MORE: Cops say Spirit's mental health unstable after hunting accident ]
The shooting happened at a home in Bell, which is located in Gilchrist County in north-central Florida, about 140 miles from Orlando.
Inside the home, deputies said they found the bodies of Spirit, his 28-year-old daughter, Sarah Lorraine Spirit, and his six grandchildren. The grandchildren were identified as 2-month-old Alanna Stewart, 4-year-old Brandon Stewart, 5-year-old Destiny Stewart, 8-year-old Johnathon Kuhlmann, 9-year-old Kylie Kuhlmann and 11-year-old Kaleb Kuhlmann.
Four of the children attended Bell Elementary School.
A memorial will be held on Friday night at the Bell High School football game, which includes a moment of silence.
Gilchrist County Sheriff Robert Schultz held a news conference Friday, asking for prayers for the community, especially for the families of the victims and children who live in the town.
"Everyone knows everyone," said Schultz, adding that 16,000 people live in the entire county. "We refuse to let this define us. Our focus is on the children."
Schultz said he could not divulge information about the father or fathers of the children.
School Superintendent Robert Rankin also spoke at the news conference, saying grief counselors were at Bell Elementary School, which houses about 540 students, on Friday to help students cope with the tragedy.
"Everybody grieves different," Rankin said. "We're trying to meet their needs."
Rankin described the slain children as "happy-go-lucky kids," and said there was no known evidence that any of them was dealing with potential issues at home.
"As you can imagine, this has been a tough day for the school district," Rankin said. "We pray that God will be with us in the days ahead."
Rankin said a teacher told him that she put the children on a school bus at 3 p.m. The shootings occurred about an hour later.
"He was walking up and down the road at least a couple of times, which was kind of strange," Neighbor Tate Bryant told Local 6.
Bryant says he saw Spirit pacing their dirt road at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, then Spirit walked with the four children from the bus stop past his house and shortly after, deputies were barreling down the road.
The Gilchrist County Sheriff's Office said late Thursday that it received a 911 call around 4 p.m. from the Spirit, who said that he had harmed others and was going to harm himself.
Schultz said deputies have been called to the home before on multiple occasions and that Spirit had a criminal history.
"He was not a legal gun owner," Schultz said.
Gov. Rick Scott visited Bell on Friday.
"We all have families," Scott said. "We can't imagine this happening to our family and friends."
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the mass shooting.
In 2001, Spirit accidentally shot and killed his 8-year-old son, Kyle, during a hunting trip to Three Lakes Wildlife Management Area near Kenansville in Osceola County, according to officials. During a walk through the woods, Spirit pointed out some rust on the muzzle of a gun and it fired, hitting Kyle in the head, officials said.
Spirit was sentenced to three years in prison for illegal possession of a firearm. He pleaded guilty in exchange for a minimum sentence just as his trial was about to begin.
After the incident, the family moved from Tampa to Bell.
Watch Local 6 News and stay with ClickOrlando.com for more on this developing story.