Man Accused Of Fatally Shooting Woman Before Turning Gun On Himself Outside Florida Denny’s
Florida authorities say a man is accused of fatally shooting a woman and turning the gun on himself early Wednesday morning. The News-Press reported that police officials were dispatched to the parking lot of a Denny’s in south Fort Myers at 8031 Summerlin Center Drive at around 9:30 a.m. after receiving a 911 call regarding a shooting.
During a press conference, Lee County Undersheriff Carmine Marceno stated that when police officers arrived at the scene, they were met with an unidentified man, who said he shot a woman and shot himself inside a vehicle.
Witness say they saw officers performing CPR on the victim, who has not been identified, before paramedics arrived at the scene. The woman did not survive the shooting; she was pronounced dead in the parking lot.
Her death marks the fifth homicide since Saturday in Lee County, police say.
When Lee County officers pulled the alleged suspect out of the vehicle, witnesses say they saw blood on his back. He was then placed face down on the ground.
Marceno stated that the male suspect was later transported via ambulance to an area hospital. His condition is unknown at this time.
The owner of a window tinting business, which is located near Denny’s, stated that he heard the shooting, but he initially thought it was from a nail gun since there was a construction site nearby.
Man shoots himself, kills woman in attempted murder-suicide at Denny's in south Fort Myers https://t.co/Ksui1fT2VW pic.twitter.com/C267yNrauy
— Naples Daily News (@ndn) April 11, 2018
He was purportedly unaware of the severity of the situation until police arrived at the scene, adding that “it is very sad. It is never good when someone dies.”
A maintenance worker, Paul Busch, who saw the incident unfold said he was stunned that it occurred so close to where he worked. He went on to say that the shooting was “definitely out of the ordinary, definitely.”
Another witness, 23, who was a customer at the car care center, stated that “this is so not Fort Myers. I’m totally flabbergasted.”
After the deadly shooting, police blocked the areas of Elderberry Lane and Summerlin Center with crime scene tape while they conducted an investigation.
The circumstances leading up to the deadly Denny’s shooting was not immediately available.
Officers say the shooting appears to be an isolated incident, and there is no threat to the public.
An investigation continues.
