7-Year-Old Girl with ‘Bright Future’ Killed by Family Friend After Soccer … – People Magazine

A 7-year-old Michigan girl with “a bright future ahead” is dead and her mother is in serious condition after police allege that a family friend shot them both and then himself after soccer practice Thursday night.

Emma Watson Nowling was shot in the head in the parking lot of the Taylor Sportsplex and died later the same night, Taylor police said in a statement to PEOPLE.

Her mother, 37-year-old Sharon Elizabeth Watson, remains in serious condition at an area hospital, according to the statement.

The suspect, 57-year-old Timothy Nelson Obeshaw, was found dead at the scene after police allege, according to a witness statement, that he fired into Watson’s car multiple times before shooting and killing himself.

A 9 mm pistol, registered in Obeshaw’s name in September 2015, was also recovered at the scene, according to the statement.

Police have not determined a motive for the shooting, but said that Obeshaw was described as a family friend, according to the statement.

He had been staying with Watson and her boyfriend in nearby Belleville before recently moving into his own residence, according to the statement.

“Obeshaw was seen at the [soccer] practice and there was what appeared to be friendly interaction between the three at the start of practice,” police said in the statement. “Witnesses said that Obeshaw had attended the girl’s practices and games in the past.”

That night during practice, “As he was walking by the sidelines, [Emma] went up and gave him a big hug and went back to her training,” her soccer coach, Mario Scicluna, told the Detroit Free Press.

But as Watson and Nowling left that night, just before 8 p.m., they were “confronted” by Obeshaw in the parking lot, police allege.

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“Witnesses and family members told police that in the past year Obeshaw had started becoming mentally unstable and paranoid,” according to the statement, which cites “evidence that Obeshaw believed someone was trying to perform mind control on him.”

Arrangements are being made for donations for the Watson family, according to the statement. Sciculuna told the Free Press he is starting a GoFundMe and that players this weekend will honor her with a moment of silence.

“She was a fun, excited girl,” he told the paper. “As time went on, she developed her soccer skills very rapidly, and was showing a lot of enthusiasm for the game. She had a bright future ahead of her.”

When reached by PEOPLE, a Taylor police representative declined to release additional information about the shooting or suspect, citing the ongoing investigation.