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2019 Sebring shooting

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Coordinates: 27°28′19″N 81°26′35″W / 27.47192°N 81.4431°W / 27.47192; -81.4431
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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 handgun[1]
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. Zephen Xaver, aged 21, surrendered and was arrested at the scene by police after a standoff and the deployment of a SWAT team.[2] He initially pleaded not guilty to five murders.[3] On March 14, 2023, he pleaded guilty in the shooting.[4] On December 16, 2024, he was sentenced to death.[5]

Shooting

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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 floor face down with their heads pointing towards the wall. At 12:35 pm, the shooter executed all five women with nine shots.[6] The man phoned the police at 12:36 pm ET,[7] and told responders that he had shot five people.[8] 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. The perpetrator also told police he had a nine-millimeter handgun[9] and was wearing a bulletproof vest.[1] 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.[10][11] 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.[7]

Victims

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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

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Xaver after his arrest

The perpetrator, 21-year-old Zephen Allen Xaver (born April 2, 1997),[12] was born in Plymouth, Indiana, and raised in neighboring Bremen.[13][10] He was taken into custody after surrendering to local officers, and was identified as a former Florida Department of Corrections correctional officer trainee with the Avon Park Correctional Institution, a position from which he resigned on January 9, 2019.[14]

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.[15] On February 22, he entered a plea of not guilty in the case. Prosecutors intended to seek the death penalty.[3] On March 14, 2023, Xaver pleaded guilty in the shooting.[4] In June 2024, jurors recommended the death penalty.[16] On December 16, 2024, he was sentenced to death.[5]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ 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 September 25, 2022. said he had a nine-millimeter handgun
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ a b "Sebring bank massacre suspect Zephen Xaver enters not guilty plea". The Ledger. Associated Press. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
  4. ^ a b "Sebring bank shooting suspect pleads guilty to 2019 murders". Fox 13 Tampa Bay. March 14, 2023. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
  5. ^ a b "Sebring bank shooter formally sentenced to death for killing 5 women in 2019". Fox 13 Tampa Bay. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
  6. ^ KIM MOODY Highlands News-Sun and TERRY SPENCER (May 20, 2024). "Sentencing trial set to begin for Xaver". Mid Florida Newspapers. Associated Press. Retrieved June 22, 2024.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ Levenson, Eric (January 24, 2019). "Sebring Florida Bank incident". CNN. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
  9. ^ a b 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. ^ 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.
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ "Inmate Population Information Detail - Zephen A Xaver". Florida Department of Corrections. Retrieved December 21, 2024.
  13. ^ Cook, Tony (December 16, 2024). "Suspect in Florida bank shooting that left 5 dead originally from Indiana". IndyStar.
  14. ^ 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.
  15. ^ Karimi, Faith; Silverman, Hollie (January 25, 2019). "Florida bank shooting suspect had dreams of killing students, police say". CNN. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
  16. ^ Gay, Nancy (June 26, 2024). "Sebring bank shooting: Jurors recommend death penalty for gunman Zephen Xaver". FOX 13 News.
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