"Stuff Like This Doesn’t Happen Over Here"

"PENSACOLA, FL — Lisa Swan was awakened early Wednesday by the sounds of a woman repeatedly screaming for help.

"The woman was the girlfriend of Anthony Ayala, 22, whom Pensacola Police Department investigators say shot the woman several times and then fatally shot himself in the head during a violent episode shortly after midnight.

"Swan, 39, was one of several people who called 911 to report screams and gunfire in the 1000 block of Gerhardt Drive, off Bayou Boulevard in the Cordova Park neighborhood.

"`My heart was pounding,` Swan said. `I was shaking. Stuff like this doesn’t happen over here. I was looking out the window trying to stay clear of anything that might happen.`

"When police officers arrived, the woman, who is in her 20s, was on the ground in her yard in front of a pickup, and Ayala, who was dead, was lying beside her.

"A gun was found at the scene, police Capt. David Alexander said.

"`So far, what we are confirming is there is some indication that she was going to leave him,` Alexander said. `There was a statement made: 'If you leave me, then I will kill you and then kill myself.'`

"The Police Department would not release the woman’s name. She was in serious condition Wednesday at a local hospital, the department said."

From pnj.com...