Dozens of people gathered Monday night at Bayview Park to remember three-year-old Cherish Jackson who was shot and killed by her father before he turned the gun on himself.
"Cherish ran out to the car crying, ‘Daddy, Daddy,’" said one neighbor, who didn't want to be identified. He was an eyewitness to the whole incident. "She was all happy to see him."
That’s when Escambia County Sheriff's Office says Jackson took out a pistol and shot the little girl.
"I know he said something to Cherish right before he shot her because I saw her look up at him," the neighbor said. "That image of her looking at him is etched into my mind forever."
Jackson shot himself right after. He was pronounced dead by ECSO on scene. Cherish was taken to the hospital.
"Both bodies were laying in the street," the neighbor says. "It was horrific."
Cherish later died due to her injuries.
Our prayers go out to her mother Casey Scott and to her family.