The parents of a 20-year-old college student living in Michigan said their daughter was being stalked by her ex-boyfriend for months before police found her dead in an apparent murder-suicide Saturday night.
“You see this happening on the news and you never think it’s going to happen to you. … It just doesn’t even seem real, you know,” the victim’s father, James Carroll, told ABC affiliate WXYZ.
Westland police said Sarah Carroll was found dead at an apartment complex and was fatally shot by her boyfriend, the outlet reports.
The ex then called police to report he killed the victim before taking his own life, Jennifer Carroll, Sarah Carroll’s mom, told the outlet.
Authorities did not immediately respond to HuffPost for more details about the events leading up to the shooting.
The victim’s mom told NBC affiliate WDIV-TV her daughter had broken up with the shooter but was being stalked by him in the two months leading up to the fatal shooting.
She went on to say her daughter was in the process of getting a restraining order but had never confided in her.
“To other parents — watch your kids,” the mom said. “Try to get more into their life, try to get them to be open and talk to you.”
James Carroll called his daughter “smart” in an interview with Fox affiliate WJBK, adding that she had made the dean’s list while studying to be a physician’s assistant at Schoolcraft, a community college about 27 miles from Detroit.
“She was only just beginning her journey, and losing her at such a young age is something no family should ever have to go through,” Sarah Carroll’s family said in a GoFundMe launched to offset funeral expenses.
The family described her in the fundraiser as a “brave, strong” young woman who was “taken from us far too soon due to gun violence.”
Gun control group Everytown for Gun Safety found that women living in the U.S. are 28 times more likely to be killed with a gun than women in other high-income countries, and 6 out of every 10 gun deaths are suicides.
Need help? In the U.S., call 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) for the National Domestic Violence Hotline.
If you or someone you know needs help, call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org for mental health support. Additionally, you can find local mental health and crisis resources at dontcallthepolice.com. Outside of the U.S., please visit the International Association for Suicide Prevention.