Uncle commits suicide after shooting nephew

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – A family struggled to understand the cause of the domestic violence that led to a funeral and two hospitalizations in South Florida.

The Wierzba family had already lost a family member on May 17, 2010. The Broward County tragedy occurred a day before the 14th anniversary of the murder.

Richard “Richie” Wierzba was 26 years old when he was killed. He would have turned 40 last year. His brother Anthony “Tony” Wierzba had been mourning him on Facebook for years and posted a photo of his gravestone.

“Treasured son, father, husband, brother, uncle.”

Officers found three men shot Thursday near McKinley Street and 53 Avenue, according to Deanna Bettineschi, a spokeswoman for the Hollywood Police Department. One was dead.

Anthony Wierzba, co-owner of Anthony’s Towing & Recovery, had committed suicide. He was 53.

Bettineschi reported he “shot the two victims” before shooting himself around 4:20 p.m., and firefighters took the two injured people to Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood.

Relatives reported that Anthony Wierzba shot and killed his two nephews, Alex Wierzba, 15, and Richard Wierzba, 21, who are brothers.

On Saturday, a relative told Local 10 News Assignment Desk Editor Joyce Grace Ortega that the Wierzba brothers — whose father was murdered and whose mother lost custody of them — were in different hospitals.

The AEF Schools, where Alex is a 9th grade student, organized a fundraiser to support Tina Wierzba, the paternal grandmother who had custody of Alex and Richard.

“Alex was placed on life support with no brain activity,” the organizer wrote on the GoFundMe page Friday. “Richard is in critical condition.”

Investigators asked anyone with information about this or other cases to contact Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477.