Osceola man guilty in fatal shooting targeting his own family

An Osceola County man was found guilty of a 2022 shooting where he killed a man and shot his own cousin in the head, according to a press release from the State Attorney’s Office.

Safari H.T. Rodriguez, 21, and his brother, Serafin, were at their cousin Selena Perales’ home in Kissimmee in June 2022 along with Perales’ two children, the children’s father, D’Moi Rawlins, and Rawlins’ cousin Alejandro Guzman.

After taking a shower between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m., Rodriguez grew quiet and kept to himself. He then donned a balaclava-type mask, armed himself with a rifle and fatally shot Guzman as he sat in the a car in the home’s driveway, according to his arrest report.

Perales went outside and confronted Rodriguez while her children, Serafin and a friend hid inside the home’s bathroom. When she asked Rodriguez to drop the weapon, he shot her in the head. Perales ran back inside the house and locked herself in the bathroom with the others.

Rodriguez then attempted to shoot Rawlins, who was outside fixing the home’s fence, firing 6 or 8 shots at him as he ran away. Rodriguez followed Perales inside and tried to break down the bathroom door, asking Serafin to come with him.

He eventually left and fled with family members to Bay County, where he was tracked down and arrested three weeks later by Osceola deputies, according to the release.

Perales, Rawlins and others who hid in the bathroom testified at Rodriguez’ trial. After a five-day trial, the jury found him guilty of first-degree murder with special findings, aggravated battery with special findings, attempted first-degree murder with special findings and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

He will be sentenced at a later date, and faces a possible term of 25 years to life.