Five people were killed at the south SunTrust Bank location in Sebring yesterday. Sebring police say the gunman apparently entered the building shortly after noon, opened fire, then called police.
Sebring officers and Highlands County Sheriff’s deputies surrounded the bank, and after negotiations, the Sheriff’s SWAT team breached the building and took 21-year-old Zephan Xaver into custody without further incident.
It is unknown how many of the victims were workers and how many were customers. However, co-workers and family members of employees were gathered by the Sheriff’s office at the nearby Inn on the Lakes.
No victims names or other details have yet been released.
Governor Ron Desantis was in town pledging state aid, including the services of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to investigate the incident.
A press conference is slated for this morning at 11:00 where officials are scheduled to release further details.
Meanwhile, the US Sport Aviation Expo will continue today at the Sebring Regional Airport. As part of today’s activities, The Expo’s Show Center will be officially named after Bob Wood – one of the five people who conceived and launched the event more than a decade and a half ago.
Events that will continue today are workshops, panel discussions, demonstration rides, musical performances and dozens of exhibitors on and around Airplane Avenue. The Expo runs thru Saturday.
Authorities have arrested a man who they say claimed to have a bomb on a transit bus in Ormond Beach.
The two-hour standoff Wednesday morning caused the evacuation of a high school and nearby businesses.
Ormond Beach police spokesman Keith Walker tells news outlets the man stepped off the bus at 10:33 a.m., lit a cigarette and lifted his shirt to show that he didn’t have a bomb strapped to his body.
Walker says the driver and five passengers got off the bus when the man threatened to blow it up.
A Volusia County Sheriff’s Office bomb squad robot removed two bags from the bus. Walker says the contents are being examined.
The man’s name hasn’t been released.
Officials say a construction worker has been killed at Bonita National Golf and Country Club. Bonita Springs Fire Control and Rescue District says the accident involved a dump truck, but few other details were released.
The Lee County Sheriff’s Office and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration are investigating the death.