HomeKey facts about the 'senseless criminal' who took away 5 lives in Florida shooting

Key facts about the 'senseless criminal' who took away 5 lives in Florida shooting

January 25, 2019 | by Manuela Cardiga

The suspect of the bank shooting in Florida has now been identified and arraigned.

On January 23, a gunman opened fire inside a SunTrust branch in Sebring Florida killing five people.

After two hours, the gunman surrendered to a SWAT team and was identified as Zephen Xaver, a Sebring resident.

“At approximately 12:36 p.m. today, the Sebring Police Department responded to the SunTrust Bank at 1901 US 27 South in Sebring. A subject contacted dispatch and reported that he had fired shots inside the bank." 

GUNMAN WORKED IN LAW ENFORCEMENT

As always in the aftermath of such a tragedy, people ask themselves: Who is this killer? Did no-one know he was a monster? Did no-one notice?

The gunman, Zephen Xaver, is just 21, and he was until recently a trainee officer in the Florida Department of Corrections. Ironically, he made the transition from corrections officer to criminal in just a few short months.

Sebring Police Police Chief Karl Hoglund declared that there is no indication that the incident was a bank robbery gone wrong.

ALLEGED KILLER'S EX-GIRLFRIEND SAID HE WANTED TO HURT PEOPLE

Even though his next door neighbor has been quoted as saying that Xaver was "quiet, responsible, and polite" with a "sweet family," his ex-girlfriend Alex Gerlach,  reveals that he has always been  “fascinated with death and guns.”

XAVER FANTASISED ABOUT KILLING CLASSMATES

Though the relationship was over, Gerlach, who lives in Indiana kept in touch with Xaver and confided that he frequently spoke about hurting people, and had shown her a gun he had bought recently:

“I never understood where it started. For some reason [he] always hated people and wanted everyone to die. He got kicked out of school for having a dream that he killed everybody in his class.”

OBSESSED WITH THE ARMED FORCES

Like so many mass murderers and serial killers,  Xaver was obsessed with the military and law enforcement.

He joined the Avon Park Correctional Institution in Highlands County as a correctional officer trainee on November 2, 2018, and resigned on January 9, 2019, just weeks before his homicidal rampage. 

A FASCINATION WITH THE FAR RIGHT

Xaver’s Facebook page reveals that he is a fan of far-right activist Milo Yiannopoulos, who has declared sympathy for neo-Nazi and white supremacist groups and individuals. Xaver was also a follower of radio show host and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.

KILLING SPREE WAS NOT A BANK ROBBERY

Sebring Police Police Chief Karl Hoglund declared that there is no indication that the incident was a bank robbery gone wrong. Xaver's intention was murder, not robbery.

Xaver has been charged with five counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of Cynthia Watson, a 65-year-old customer, Marisol Lopez, a 55-year-old bank employee, and three other women who remain unidentified under Marsy’s Law, which protects the victim's right to anonymity.

The case is still under investigation, and as of January 24, the crime scene was still active.

MARYLAND WOMAN KILLS 4

Employees at a Rite Aid in Harford County, Maryland were shot at by temporary worker at the drugstore’s distribution center.

Snochia Moseley, 26, reported for work as usual, but at 9 a.m., she opened fire on her co-workers.

"She had reported for her workday as usual, and around 9 a.m. the shooting began, striking victims both outside the business and inside the facility."

Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler

Moseley killed three people and wounded three more before taking her own life.

In a related story, a man in New Mexico arrested for kidnapping children and training them for school shootings.

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