SARASOTA, FLORIDA– Investigators in Florida say a double homicide discovered during a health check was linked to a shooting that occurred hours later in a gated community on the other side of the state, killing five more people including the suspected shooter.
The suspect had a romantic relationship with one of the Fort Lauderdale victims, who was connected to the victims in the second Sarasota shooting, but Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office investigators have released few other details.
“The suspect’s motive for targeting the Sarasota victims is unknown,” the Sheriff’s Office said in a statement Wednesday.
Fort Lauderdale is located more than 200 miles (320 kilometers) from Sarasota, on the other side of Florida’s main peninsula.
Fort Lauderdale police officers received a call Tuesday to conduct a wellness check and found two people dead inside the home, Detective Kerry Haggerty said in an email Wednesday.
“The preliminary investigation indicates this is an isolated incident. Investigators do not believe there is any threat to the local public,” Haggerty said.
According to the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were directed to a home in a gated community in the city by a 911 call. They found an injured man in the front yard who died a short time later. Inside the home, deputies found two men and two women, all dead, including the suspect.
Sarasota County investigators were contacted by Fort Lauderdale detectives who said they believed the cases were linked and provided information about the suspect’s vehicle, which was found in a Sarasota neighborhood.
Video footage collected from neighbors and the HOA showed the suspect’s vehicle entering the Sarasota neighborhood, followed by the sound of gunfire a short time later. More than a half-hour later, the man found wounded in the front yard was seen on video driving into the neighborhood, approaching the front door of the home and then being shot, the sheriff’s office said.
No other people were seen approaching the home until deputies arrived, according to the sheriff’s office.