NEED TO KNOW
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Jeff Smerer is accused of shooting his three children after waking them up for school one morning in September
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Smerer reportedly attempted suicide after the alleged shooting
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One of the children was killed, and another one was left paralyzed from the neck down, police and family say
A Michigan man will face trial on murder and assault charges in connection with the murder of his teen son, and shooting of his two other children.
Jeff Smerer, 44, was arrested last month after allegedly shooting his three children, killing one of them, on the morning he was scheduled to be sentenced on a sex-crime conviction, per several reports.
His son, 17-year-old Kayleb, was killed in the Sept. 11 shooting in their Port Huron, Mich. home; his 13-year-old son Bentley and 12-year-old daughter Kinzely survived the shooting and were transferred to a Detroit-area hospitals in critical condition, Port Huron Police Department said in a statement.
The children were not named in the police statement, but their identities were confirmed by The Detroit News and ABC 7.
Smerer was identified by authorities to several news outlets. Port Huron police did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comments.
St. Clair County Jail
Jeffery James Smerer
On the day of the shooting, Smerer was scheduled to be sentenced for an indecent exposure conviction, The Detroit News, the Port Huron Times Herald and CBS News reported, citing court records and the District Court Judge Dennis J Rickert.
He was convicted for exposing his genitals to a child in the care of his family’s daycare between 2020 and 2023, the Port Huron Times Herald reported.
Early in the morning of his sentencing day, “he woke up, woke the kids up to go to school and you know, it was a regular day and something just happened,” a family member told ABC 7, adding, “It doesn’t make sense.”
Huron police were notified of reports of a shooting around 6 a.m. that morning, they said in their statement, and found the three children shot in the home.
Investigators say Smerer reportedly tried to take his own life after the shootings, WPHM reported.
His wife and their 20-year-old son intervened and were able to stop him from committing further violence, police said, per FOX 2, CBS News and WPHM.
Prosecutors allege Smerer confessed to the crime and told police he had been planning the attack for a week, per FOX 2 and the Port Huron Times Herald.
The family is reeling from the tragedy as Kinzely has been paralyzed from the neck down, her family said in a GoFundMe set up to assist with Kayleb’s funeral and medical assistance for the surviving children.
She has a bullet lodged in the back of her spine, family members told ABC 7.
Kinzley loved volleyball and dance, but will have to undergo facial reconstruction surgery, and Bentley suffered “shattered cheekbones, upper jaw, and nasal area,” the family said in the GoFundMe.
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Smerer has been charged with open murder, two counts of assault with intent to murder, two counts of first-degree child abuse and multiple counts of felony firearm use, WPHM, CBS News, The Detroit News and the Port Huron Times Herald reported.
Plea information for Smerer was not immediately available. PEOPLE has reached out to his attorney for comments.
If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
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