Accused gunman "overtook the bank by force" before killing 5 women, police say
The accused gunman in a shooting at a central Florida bank "overtook the bank by force" before killing five women inside, police said Thursday. Authorities said Zephen Xaver opened fire Wednesday inside a SunTrust Bank in Sebring, nearly 100 miles south of Orlando.
Sebring Police Chief Karl Hoglund told reporters at a press conference that Xaver, 21, entered the bank with a gun at around 12:30 p.m. "He immediately contacted bank employees and a bank customer and overtook the bank by force," Hoglund said.
The chief said Xaver then shot the five women. On Thursday afternoon, the Highlands County Sheriff's Office said in a statement that a bank employee in a back break room heard the shots, ran out a back door and called the police.
Xaver called 911 at approximately 12:36 p.m. and told dispatchers he had killed five people, Hoglund said. When a SWAT team breached the door to the bank around 2 p.m., Xaver was found in a back office with a bulletproof vest and a 9 mm handgun, and he was arrested without incident, according to a police report.
All of the victims were found lying face down on the floor of the lobby, according to the report. They were each shot in the back of the head and upper torso.
Xaver was wearing a T-shirt that showed four Grim Reapers on horseback, CBS News correspondent Mark Strassmann reports. The chief said investigators were reviewing surveillance video from the bank, but he didn't provide details about what was on the video.
Hoglund identified two of the victims, bank employee Marisol Lopez, 55, and customer Cynthia Watson, 65. Another bank employee, Ana Piñon-Williams, 38, was identified as a third victim by her brother-in-law, Tim Williams.
"She accepted others where they were in life," Williams said at an afternoon press conference. "Loving came easy for her. Loving her was easy. Living without her will be hard."
A fourth victim was identified Thursday night as Jessica Montague, 31, according to her husband. The Associated Press reports she was married and had a 3-year-old child. The family of the fifth victim has requested her identity not be released.
The sheriff's office said in a statement the ages of the other victims were 31, 37 and 54, and it was unclear why there was an apparent discrepancy in Piñon-Williams' age.
Xaver was ordered held without bond Thursday morning on five counts of murder in the first degree. Hoglund said there was no known connection between Xaver and any of the victims.
"We believe that it is a random act," Hoglund said. "We do not believe anybody was specifically targeted."
The chief also said that police had no information to indicate that Xaver intended to rob the bank.
Peter Martinez contributed to this report.
