( CNN ) -- A man who killed his daughter , six grandchildren and then himself in a shooting in north-central Florida was a convicted felon and was n't allowed to possess the gun he used , police said Friday . Don Spirit , 51 , killed his daughter , Sarah Spirit , 28 , and her three sons and three daughters -- ages 3 months to 11 years -- at his home in Bell on Thursday afternoon before killing himself , Gilchrist County sheriff 's officials said . Investigators did n't yet know any motive for the murder-suicide , Sheriff Robert Schultz said Friday . The massacre came more than a decade after , according to media reports , Don Spirit was convicted of a felony in the fatal shooting of his son in a hunting accident . The shootings occurred only about an hour after some of the children returned home from Bell Elementary School , school district Superintendent Rob Rankin told reporters Friday . Four of Sarah Spirit 's children -- in grades K , 2 , 3 and 5 -- attended the school of about 540 children . Students struggled with news of their classmates ' deaths on Friday , Rankin said . `` It really hurt me this morning to be on our campus and seeing kids feeling the way they did this morning , '' Rankin said. `` ... It 's devastating to our schools , but we 're going to be strong through this . '' A prayer vigil has been scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Sunday at the school , the sheriff 's office webpage said . Thursday 's killings . Schultz said a deputy went to the home after Don Spirit called 911 around 4 p.m. After the deputy arrived , Spirit killed himself . The deputy found the bodies of Sarah Spirit and the children inside the home . Police said they believe Spirit shot more than one person in the home , but declined to say whether all of the victims had been shot . Deputies had previously responded to calls from the home on numerous occasions , officials said . Spirit had a criminal history , Schultz said Thursday , without elaborating . Sheriff 's spokesman Lt. Jeff Manning said Friday that he did n't believe any of the calls were related to domestic violence . The sheriff said the news would devastate the county , which has about 17,000 residents . `` We 're all family here , '' he said . Florida community reels after mom kills son , daughter , self . Criminal record . Don Spirit , as a convicted felon , was not allowed to have a gun , Manning said Friday . The sheriff 's office has n't said how Spirit obtained a gun or what kind of firearm he used . In 2003 , the Orlando Sentinel reported that Spirit was sentenced to three years in prison after he accidentally killed his son Kyle in a hunting accident two years prior . Spirit was charged in Osecola County with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and pleaded guilty , the newspaper reported at the time . That charge is a second-degree felony . Florida criminal records show Spirit was released from prison in February 2006 . Court records show Spirit also was convicted in 1996 of possession of more than 20 grams of marijuana , a third-degree felony . Schultz declined to identify the father of the children , or whether all of the children had the same father . He said no one in the house survived Spirit 's rampage . Bell is about 30 miles west of Gainesville . CNN 's AnneClaire Stapleton contributed to this report .
Mother , her six children shot and killed inside residence in Bell , Florida . Shooter calls 911 , then kills self after a deputy arrives . Sheriff identifies killer as 51-year-old Don Spirit . Don Spirit had spent time in prison , was released in 2006 .