Grandfather fatally shoots adult granddaughter banging on bedroom door, Florida cops say

A grandfather shot and killed his 38-year-old granddaughter as she was staying with family to “get her life back on track,” Florida authorities said.

Jose Mogro, 67, is now charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon in the killing of Maria Rangel, who had been living at her grandparents’ Port Charlotte home for three weeks since moving from Texas, Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office deputies said in an arrest affidavit.

Mogro and his wife told deputies that Rangel was verbally aggressive, and her behavior had been “escalating” over the course of her stay, investigators said.

The grandparents said Rangel came home at 2 a.m. March 1 and was making a lot of noise as they were trying to sleep, according to deputies.

Mogro said he told her to be quiet, but she ignored him, then he went back to the bedroom and locked the door until Rangel started banging on it about 20 minutes later, investigators wrote.

He grabbed his gun and opened the door, and saw her “swinging her arms,” according to the report. As she approached him, he backed up and shot her in the chest, deputies said.

He told investigators he used the gun to “deter” his granddaughter and added she wasn’t in a “fighting stance” and didn’t hit him, deputies said.

He was booked in jail March 1, Charlotte County records show.

Port Charlotte is about a 35-mile drive northwest from Fort Myers.

This story was originally published March 3, 2025 at 12:32 PM with the headline "Grandfather fatally shoots adult granddaughter banging on bedroom door, Florida cops say."