NEWS RELEASE
Teen Stabbed a Guardian in One of Four Domestic Calls FCSO Answered in a Single Day
Date:Friday, August 21, 2026
BUNNELL, Fla. — On Wednesday, deputies with the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office answered four separate domestic violence calls, capping a week of increased domestic violence across the county.
Wednesday’s calls ran from a shouting match to a violent felony. In the worst of them, a teenager stabbed a guardian with a kitchen knife after becoming agitated once he learned the guardian had been drinking. The guardian was taken to the hospital and treated for non-life-threatening injuries. Another teen had a temper tantrum this week, biting and scratching one guardian and then striking another over a cellphone.
Temper tantrums aren’t just for teens. In another incident, a woman threw a Jello Snack Pack at another adult during an argument.
Earlier in the week, deputies also arrested an adult who battered a family member while young children were in the home. That case was referred to the Florida Department of Children and Families.
Deputies made two more arrests this month in separate domestic cases that could have ended in a homicide. One suspect pointed a loaded firearm at a family member’s chest during an argument. Another strangled a victim.
Countywide, domestic disturbance calls are running slightly behind where they sat at this point in 2024 and 2025. What has changed is how dangerous they are.
Deputies are answering these calls in the middle of a record hot summer. In one of Wednesday’s arrests, the suspect told deputies that “things got heated” before the argument turned physical.
“Don’t let the summer heat get you heated,” said Sheriff Rick Staly. “Record heat is no excuse to put your hands on the people you are supposed to love. When it gets this hot, tempers run short and a small argument turns violent fast. Our deputies treat every domestic call as a potentially deadly one, because that is exactly what it is. If someone is hurting you at home, call us. I would much rather help you get out safely tonight than work your homicide tomorrow.”
If someone is being hurt at home, help is available right now. In an emergency, call 911. The Family Life Center, Flagler County’s certified domestic violence center, answers a confidential 24-hour helpline at 386-437-3505.
“Victims are not alone and there is no shame in being a victim. The shame is on the perpetrator for hurting people they pretend to love,” said Family Life Center CEO Dr. Trish Giaccone.
Violations of a protective injunction are climbing, too. Deputies have handled 68 of them so far this year, up from 38 at this point in 2025. Every one of those violations involves someone a judge had already ordered to stay away, which is a measure of ongoing danger rather than a single bad night.
“When a judge signs an injunction, that order is not a suggestion,” said Sheriff Staly. “Stay away means stay away. That means no phone calls, no text messages, no showing up at the house, no driving by and no sending a friend to pass along a message. Judges do not take kindly to people who ignore their orders, and neither do I. Violate that injunction and my deputies will give you a ride to the Green Roof Inn, where you can explain yourself to the same judge who signed the paper.”
In 2017 when Sheriff Staly first took office, he convened a county wide domestic violence task force, which brought together 55 community partners to change how this agency responds to domestic violence calls.
“That partnership with community organizations continues to be strong as we work together to reduce domestic violence and jail abusers,” Sheriff Staly said.
Domestic calls are among the most dangerous that deputies answer, for the victim and for the deputy walking through the door. Strangulation and a threat to kill are the strongest warning signs that a domestic situation is about to turn deadly, and a firearm in the house raises that risk even higher. Anyone seeing those signs at home, in a family member’s home, or in a neighbor’s relationship, should not wait for the next argument.
In the event of an emergency, call 911. For anything short of an emergency, call the Emergency Communications Center at 386-313-4911 to speak with a deputy or to ask about an injunction for protection. Deputies and the Family Life Center can also help build a plan for leaving safely.
The Family Life Center, Flagler County’s certified domestic violence center, runs a 24-hour confidential domestic violence helpline at 386-437-3505 and provides emergency shelter and advocacy at no cost, including help filing an injunction. FCSO Victim Services can be reached at 386-586-4849.
Every victim who reports domestic violence to FCSO is offered resources to help them escape abuse and deputies complete a lethality assessment to measure how much danger that victim is in. Victims can also register with VINE to be notified when an offender’s custody status changes.
Statewide and national help is available around the clock. The Florida Domestic Violence Hotline takes confidential calls at 1-800-500-1119, and the National Domestic Violence Hotline can be reached at 1-800-799-7233 or by texting START to 88788, which is an option for anyone who cannot safely make a call.
There is a program for the person doing the hurting, and it is not an anger management class. The Florida Department of Children and Families certifies batterers’ intervention programs, which are court-approved and built specifically for people who use violence against a partner or a family member. DCF keeps a directory of the certified providers serving Flagler County. Community Hands of Hope, a certified program covering this circuit, can be reached at 386-916-6672. SMA Healthcare, the county’s community mental health provider, answers crisis calls around the clock at 800-539-4228.
Anyone with information about a domestic violence offender who has fled or who has an outstanding warrant should call FCSO at 386-313-4911. Tips can be left anonymously with Crime Stoppers of Northeast Florida at 1-888-277-TIPS.
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