GUILTY FL - Sebring: Mass Shooting SunTrust Bank 1/23/19 - 5+ killed - shooter Zephen Xaver in custody

Sebring Police Department

Sebring Police Department
2 hrs ·
JOINT PRESS RELEASE ON SUNTRUST SHOOTING

Five people shot and killed inside Sebring bank

SEBRING -- Five people were shot and killed inside a Sebring bank today.

This afternoon at 12:37 p.m., officers with the Sebring Police Department and the Highlands County Sheriff’s Office responded to the SunTrust Bank at 1901 US 27 South in Sebring after a man called dispatch and said “I have shot five people.”

At 12:40 p.m., two members of the Highlands County Sheriff’s Office TAC Unit arrived on scene and, along with other deputies and officers from the Sebring Police Department, established a perimeter. The HCSO SWAT team entered the building, where the suspect had barricaded himself inside, to attempt to check on victims. Crisis Negotiation Team members, along with dispatchers and SWAT members, persuaded the suspect to surrender.

The names and ages of the victims have not been released. They were the only five people in the bank at the time.

The suspect has been identified as 21-year-old Zephan Xaver from Sebring. The investigation into his motives is still ongoing.

“This has been a tragic day for our community. We’ve suffered a significant loss at the hands of a senseless criminal doing a senseless crime,” Sebring Police Chief Karl Hoglund said. “This is something that you hope will never happen anywhere, much less in your hometown. We will continue to investigate and work to see that the victims and their families are taken care of and that they receive the justice they deserve.”

“I am heartbroken that this horrendous incident has occurred in our county,” Sheriff Paul Blackman said. “I pray for the victims, their families and our community. This tragedy will have a lasting impact on Highlands County and likely this community will never be the same.

“I have been in law enforcement all of my adult life and this horrific incident shocks and angers me more than anything I have encountered in my career. While we still don’t know what drove the suspect to commit this heinous act, there is no excuse that can justify the cold-blooded murder of multiple victims.”
 
<modsnipped>ZX being a fan of the far-right in general seems accurate.

Disappointed, angry, sad for the victims and loved ones, embarrassed that our country has another mass shooting....but not particularly surprised. :(

jmo
He also is not the most attractive of gentlemen. I will be interested to see exactly who was shot, gender-wise.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
He also is not the most attractive of gentlemen. I will be interested to see exactly who was shot, gender-wise.
On Twitter he followed President Donald Trump, Rolling Stones lead singer Mick Jagger and New Jersey Sen. Corey Booker. Who is Zephen Xaver, the Sebring shooting suspect?

FWIW, Senator Booker is a Democrat. Wonder what his interest in Booker is, since that doesn't seem to follow his pattern that we notice so far.

jmo
 
Zephen Xaver — a former Florida Department of Corrections correctional officer trainee. . .
Who is Zephen Xaver, the Sebring shooting suspect?
Published 7:31 p.m. ET Jan. 23, 2019 | Updated 7:59 p.m. ET Jan. 23, 2019
Zephen Xaver was not much for posting on social media.

From Instagram to Twitter and Facebook, the 21-year-old man suspected of storming a Sebring bank and killing five people, kept a low profile.

Five people died Wednesday when a man identified as Xaver — a former Florida Department of Corrections correctional officer trainee — opened fire at a SunTrust bank in Sebring in what Highlands County Commissioner Don Elwell called a "hostage situation" when speaking to CNN.

Little is know about Xaver, who state officials confirmed late Wednesday was hired in November 2018 to work at Avon Park Correctional Institution near the Avon Park Air Force Range. Patrick Manderfield, a spokesperson for the agency, reported that Xaver had no discipline while employed with the department, but resigned on Jan. 9. No explanation was given for the resignation, he said.
[...]
 
More from the Heavy article https://heavy.com/news/2019/01/zephen-xaver/:

"Zephen Allen Xaver is a Sebring, Florida, resident, police said. According to his Facebook page, Xaver is originally from Plymouth, Indiana, and has also lived in Bremen, Indiana. Xaver’s ex-girlfriend confirmed on her Facebook page that the former Indiana resident is the suspect....

On Linkedin, Xaver says he is a student at Stevens-Henager College, which is based in Utah, but also allows students to take classes online. He attended Bremen Senior High School and Plymouth High School in Indiana, where he was on the wrestling team."
 
So deeply saddening to hear of this. Senseless, cold-blooded murders.

My heart is with the families of those whose lives were ripped from them and their loved ones today.

May the family members hold one another close during this unfathomable time.
 
https://twitter.com/wsbtv/status/1088224787279867904
#BREAKING
: Police have released the mugshot of Zephen Xaver, the 21-year-old accused of killing at least 5 people at a SunTrust bank in Florida today: http://2wsb.tv/2HrngWw
DxomrAAX0AEzyaz.jpg
 
Sebring shooting: Who is Zephen Xaver, the suspect?

Jan 23, 2019

Five people died Wednesday when a man identified as Xaver — a former Florida Department of Corrections correctional officer trainee — opened fire at a SunTrust bank in Sebring in what Highlands County Commissioner Don Elwell called a "hostage situation" when speaking to CNN.

Little is known about Xaver, who state officials confirmed late Wednesday was hired in November 2018 to work at Avon Park Correctional Institution near the Avon Park Air Force Range. Patrick Manderfield, a spokesperson for the agency, reported that Xaver "had no discipline while employed with the department," but resigned on Jan. 9. No explanation was given for the resignation, he said.
 
At Least 5 Dead In Shooting At Central Florida Bank; Suspect In Custody

Updated at 10:10 p.m. ET

At least five people were killed when a man opened fire Wednesday afternoon in a bank in Sebring, Fla., according to officials.

At a brief news conference, Sebring Police Chief Karl Hoglund named 21-year-old Zephen Xaver, of Sebring, as the suspect. Xaver is in police custody.

"Today has been a tragic day in our community," Hoglund said. "We've suffered a significant loss at the hands of a senseless criminal doing a senseless crime."

At approximately 12:36 p.m., Sebring police and Highlands County Sheriff's deputies responded to a SunTrust bank branch after a man called police dispatchers and said he had fired shots in the bank.

Responding law enforcement agents began negotiating with the barricaded shooter, trying to get him to surrender. A SWAT team from the sheriff's department entered the building and continued to negotiate with the gunman until he eventually surrendered. Video footage from the scene showed a standalone, low-slung brick building with apparent damage to one of its main entrances.
 

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