Coordinates: 27°28′19″N 81°26′35″W / 27.47192°N 81.4431°W / 27.47192; -81.4431

2019 Sebring shooting

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2019 Sebring shooting
LocationSunTrust Bank; Sebring, Florida
Coordinates27°28′19″N 81°26′35″W / 27.47192°N 81.4431°W / 27.47192; -81.4431
DateJanuary 23, 2019
Attack type
Mass shooting
Weapons9mm Springfield Armory Inc. XD(M) handgun
Deaths5
Injured0
PerpetratorZephen Allen Xaver
MotiveHomicidal urges and suicide

On January 23, 2019, at around 12:30 pm, five women – four employees and a customer – were shot and killed at the SunTrust Bank in Sebring, Florida. After being named a suspect, 21-year-old Zephen Xaver turned himself in to police.[1] He initially pleaded not guilty to five murders.[2] On March 14, 2023, he pleaded guilty in the shooting.[3]

Shooting

At 12:32 pm, a man entered the SunTrust Bank wearing a ballistic vest underneath his sweatshirt. Minutes before entering the bank, he texted to his girlfriend that he was going to die today and that he was going to kill people just to know how it would feel. He walked up to one of the bank tellers and pulled out a handgun. He forced the bank teller and everyone else in the lobby to gather at a wall with their hands up. He told the teller to lock both doors to the bank and she complied. The shooter then ordered the five women to lay down on the ground facedown with their heads pointing towards the wall. At 12:35 pm, the shooter executed all five women with nine shots.[4] The man phoned the police at 12:36 pm ET,[5] and told responders that he had shot five people.[6] While on the phone with police, he walked back to the bodies of the five women and fired two more shots at them. During the middle of the call, the man pointed the handgun to his own head and told the operator that he might kill himself. SWAT arrived, trying to negotiate to get the barricaded suspect to leave the bank. During the negotiations, the suspect told the negotiator that he was hearing voices telling him to kill and that placing the gun to his head weakened the voices. The crisis negotiator eventually convinced the suspect to put the handgun down and surrender, as members of the SWAT team entered the bank by ramming an armored vehicle through its glass front doors.[7][8] The suspect was arrested.[9]

The lone survivor of the shooting was a bank employee who had been in the bank's break room just before the gunman walked in. The employee escaped out the back door when gunshots first rang out; after getting outside, he called 911.[5]

Victims

Five women were discovered by police, shot execution style in their heads and backs. They were identified as:

  • Debra Cook, age 54, employee
  • Marisol Lopez, 55, employee
  • Jessica Montague, 31, employee
  • Cynthia Watson, 65, customer
  • Ana Piñon-Williams, 37, employee

Perpetrator

Xaver after his arrest

Zephen Allen Xaver, age 21[7] was identified as the perpetrator after surrendering to officers. He was identified as a former Florida Department of Corrections correctional officer trainee, with the Avon Park Correctional Institution near the Avon Park Air Force Range but resigned on January 9, 2019.[10]

Xaver was charged with five counts of capital murder and held by police without bond. He was appointed a public defender as he had no income or assets.[11] On February 22, he entered a plea of not guilty in the case. Prosecutors intended to seek the death penalty.[2] On March 14, 2023, he pleaded guilty in the shooting.[3]

See also

References

  1. ^ Suarez Sang, Lucia I. (January 24, 2019). "Motive unknown in Florida bank shooting, gunman no connection to victims: police". Fox News. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Sebring bank massacre suspect Zephen Xaver enters not guilty plea". The Ledger. Associated Press. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
  3. ^ a b "Sebring bank shooting suspect pleads guilty to 2019 murders". Fox 13 Tampa Bay. March 14, 2023. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
  4. ^ Press, KIM MOODY Highlands News-Sun and TERRY SPENCER Associated (May 20, 2024). "Sentencing trial set to begin for Xaver". Mid Florida Newspapers. Retrieved June 22, 2024.
  5. ^ a b "One employee escaped Florida bank massacre by running out back door, sheriff's office says". WFTS. January 25, 2019. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
  6. ^ Levenson, Eric (January 24, 2019). "Sebring Florida Bank incident". CNN. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
  7. ^ a b Stack, Liam; Haag, Matthew; Rueb, Emily S. (January 24, 2019). "Florida Bank Shooting: Victims Are Identified as Details of 5 Killings Emerge". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 13, 2023. Retrieved August 10, 2023.
  8. ^ Gay, Nancy (June 12, 2024). "Sebring bank shooting trial: Gunman tells police 'I deserve to die for this' in video played for jurors". FOX 13 Tampa Bay. Retrieved June 22, 2024.
  9. ^ Mettler, Katie; Berman, Mark; Wang, Amy B.; Flynn, Meagan (January 24, 2019). "A man opened fire in a Florida bank, killing five. Authorities still don't know why". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on February 20, 2019. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
  10. ^ Gallop, J.D. (January 23, 2019). "Sebring, Florida, shooting: Who is Zephen Xaver, suspect accused of killing five at SunTrust Bank". USA TODAY. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
  11. ^ Karimi, Faith; Silverman, Hollie (January 25, 2019). "Florida bank shooting suspect had dreams of killing students, police say". CNN. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
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