Florida detectives link 2 crime scenes with 7 dead on opposite sides of the state
SARASOTA, Fla. (AP) — Investigators in Florida say a double homicide uncovered during a welfare check is linked to a shooting hours later at a gated community on the other side of the state that left five more people dead, including the suspected gunman.
The suspect had a romantic relationship with one of the Fort Lauderdale victims who was linked to the victims in the second shooting in Sarasota, but Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office detectives have released few more details.
“The suspect’s motivation for targeting the Sarasota victims is unknown,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement Wednesday.
Fort Lauderdale is more than 200 miles (320 kilometers) from Sarasota, on the opposite side of Florida’s main peninsula.
Detective Kerri Hagerty said in an email Wednesday that Fort Lauderdale police officers were called Tuesday for a welfare check and found two people dead in a home.
“Preliminary investigation indicates this is an isolated incident. Detectives do not believe there is any threat to the local community,” Hagerty said.
According to the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were directed to a home in a gated community in the city by a 911 call. They found an injured man in the front yard, who died a short time later. Inside the home, deputies found two men and two women dead, including the suspect.
Detectives in Fort Lauderdale contacted Sarasota County detectives, who said they believed the cases were related and provided information about the suspect’s vehicle, which was located in the Sarasota neighborhood.
Video footage collected from neighbors and the HOA shows the suspect’s vehicle entering a Sarasota neighborhood, followed shortly after by gunshots. More than a half-hour later, the man found injured in the front yard was seen on video walking into the neighborhood, approaching the front door of the home and then being shot, the sheriff’s office said.
No one else was seen approaching the home until deputies arrived, according to the sheriff’s office.
