A young boy, the boy's father, and a man from Quebec are dead in a bizarre, hostage standoff at a campground in Deerfield Beach, Fla.

The local Broward Sheriff's Office say the incident began Thursday evening when the suspect, William De Jesus, 41, a Florida resident, drove into the Highland Woods RV Park.

In the car were his wife, Deanna De Jesus, and their two children, Jeshiah and Samson. De Jesus and his family got out of the car and went up to a motor home.

Ovila Plante, a La Tuque, Quebec resident, came out of the RV and the two men started arguing. De Jesus pulled out a revolver and shot the 76-year-old in the chest and then again in the head.

De Jesus then pulled his family into the motor home, which was still occupied by Plante's girlfriend, Pierrette Beauchemin, also from Quebec.

Police arrived shortly after and a standoff began with De Jesus holed up inside the RV with the two boys and two women.

"Deputies tried to convince the suspect to release the hostage and surrender peacefully. He refused," the sheriff's office said.

About an hour later, Beauchemin either escaped or was let go; she was unharmed. Police continued to try to negotiate with De Jesus but he failed to respond.

"De Jesus spoke to law enforcement by telephone early on in the ordeal, but then stopped communicating as a stand-off with the BSO SWAT team lasted for hours," the sheriff's office said.

The SWAT team finally entered the vehicle around 12:30 a.m. Friday and found De Jesus and nine-year-old Jeshiah dead. Dianna De Jesusand seven-year-old Samson were badly injured and taken to area hospitals in critical condition.

They are currently listed in serious condition.

"Homicide detectives have determined that De Jesus first stabbed his sons with a knife from the camper's kitchen, then stabbed his wife and himself," the sheriff's office said.

Authorities believe there was no relationship between De Jesus and the Canadians.

"There's no indication that they knew each other at all, it just appears to be totally random," said police spokesman Jim Leljedal.

The park where the incident took place is located about 30 kilometres north of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and is popular with Canadians.

"It's a very peaceful park," said Leljedal. "That's what makes this so bizarre."

Lorraine Garneau, who has a trailer near Plante's, said she went outside after hearing a commotion.

"We heard an argument and then we heard shots," she told Montreal radio station 98.5 FM. "We got out of the trailer and saw the elderly Quebec man approaching us.

"He was bleeding from the nose, and his eyes were glassy. He told us 'Call 911, I've just been shot twice.'"

Police are now investigating what led to the incident.

With files from The Canadian Press