Feb 26, 2009 3:00 am US/Eastern
Police: Miami Music Teacher Kills Family, Self
Son Fled The Shooting Into The Safety Of A Neighbor's House
Friends & Neighbors Described The Family As Perfect
50-year-old Pablo Amador Was A Music Teacher
MIAMI (CBS) ―
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Four family members - a father and wife, and two daughters - found shot to death Wednesday in a South Miami-Dade home.
CBS
A father killed his two daughters, wife and himself in Southwest Miami-Dade early Wednesday morning, leaving friends and neighbors who described them as a perfect family in disbelief.
The tragedy occurred at about 5 a.m. Wednesday at a single-family home where piano teacher Pablo Amador lived with his family.
Det. Alvaro Zabaleta, a spokesman for the Miami-Dade police department said a "father shot himself after shooting his wife and two daughters." The two girls were identified as 13-year-old Rosa and 14-year-old Priscila. His wife, 45-year-old Maria Amador was also killed.
He added that a 16-year-old son, Javier, escaped the shooting by fleeing into a nearby home, where he called 911 operators.
A fourth daughter, 19-year-old Beula, was attending classes at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, where she's a music student.
Maria worked at
The Miami Project To Cure Paralysis, a research center dedicated to studies in the field of paralysis and spinal cord injury.
Pablo, according to neighbors, gave piano lessons to students of all ages at the home. He's also reported to have been a former tenor with the Greater Miami Opera chorus.
A neighbor told CBS station from WFOR-TV in Miami that the family was pleasant, and that every Saturday her children would go their house to take music lessons.
Claretha Allen added, "I can't even imagine what's going through my mind right now. I heard the helicopters this morning, but I never imagined it was Mr. Pablo's house."
Police have released no motive for the shooting.
"He was a nice man, a great nice man, real gentle, nice with kids, because both of my little boys were taking music lessons with him every Saturday," said Greg Allen.
President Donna Shalala of the University of Miami released the following statement:
"Today we mourn the terrible loss of a special member of the University of Miami family. Maria Amador, a University employee since 1995, was director of education at the Miller School of Medicine's Miami Project to Cure Paralysis. She was beloved by her colleagues and the many people she served with dedication and compassion.
W. Dalton Dietrich III, the scientific director of The Miami Project who worked very closely with Maria, said that she was passionate about her job and came to work every day dedicated to educating people about spinal cord injury and advancing the scientific discoveries at the clinic. "Maria had the special talent of translating our science into words that could be understood and appreciated by the general public."
The tragic death of Maria and two of her children touches the University community in another devastating way. Her daughter, Bea, is a gifted pianist majoring in music therapy at the Frost School of Music. Shelly Berg, dean of the Frost School of Music, expressed on behalf of her classmates and faculty that, "We will do all we can to help her and wrap our arms around her as she deals with this tragedy."
We can never replace all that Bea and her family have lost, but as individuals and as a community we can offer our love, sympathy, and strength to her and her brother, Javier, in this hour of unfathomable loss. Both Bea and Javier will always find a welcoming extended University family ready to help them in any way we can."
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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