Sumter man arrested for pointing firearm in presence of minors confesses to killing parents in Florida

Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office in Largo, Florida, is investigating a double homicide, and its main suspect, a Sumter man, confessed to the killings.

According to Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, deputies arrived on scene of a Sanders Avenue residence in Florida after a welfare check was requested on Friday, June 6, at 12:35 p.m.

Upon arrival, the deputies located 53-year-old Elizabeth Lee Kirchner and 64-year-old Steven Eric Kirchner deceased in their living room from apparent gunshot wounds.

An investigation indicated their son, Nicholas Steven Kirchner, 37, of Sumter, fled the scene before deputies arrived.

Nicholas Kirchner was also wanted in a separate case in Sumter on the same day.

Sumter County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a call of a disturbance involving a firearm on Green View Parkway at about 10:59 a.m. on that Friday.

Witnesses told investigators that Nicholas Kirchner pointed a gun at multiple individuals and threatened to shoot them. He allegedly held one family member at gunpoint and forced another to enter the home to retrieve someone, threatening to shoot the hostage in the head if his demands were not met, according to Mark Bordeaux, public information officer for Sumter County Sheriff’s Office in South Carolina.

There were two juveniles present at the time of the incident, Bordeaux told The Item.

During this incident, Nicholas stated “I’ve already killed two people – I’ll kill some more.” He then fled this incident and was later taken into custody by Taliaferro County Sheriff’s Office in Georgia. 

Nicholas Kirchner admitted multiple times he killed his parents and described it as a “righteous kill,” according to Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office. He was arrested and transported to McDuffie County Jail in Georgia on two counts of first-degree premeditated murder, the Florida sheriff’s office said.

He is also facing charges of pointing and presenting a firearm at a person in Sumter, according to Bordeaux.