TITUSVILLE, Fla. – A Titusville motel owner is dead, and his accused killer is in the hospital with a self-inflicted wound after a shooting Wednesday morning, according to police.
Officers said the gunman had been staying at the Siesta Motel on South Washington Avenue. Shortly before 11 a.m. Wednesday, police said the man shot the motel employee, then tried to shoot a second female worker, but his gun jammed.
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Investigators said the gunman ran but was located on Forest Road. They said they tried to detain him, but the man fired his gun, which led to an officer returning fire.
Several witnesses said the suspect then shot himself in the head. He was taken to a hospital in critical condition.
The motel owner’s wife — who also owns the motel — told News 6 that she was the wife of the slain employee, saying she and her husband took over the motel after moving to Florida from Tennessee.
She told News 6 that she had left the building to bring her dog to the vet, which is when she received a frantic call from the hotel’s housekeeper. She added that she held her husband in her arms as he died.
The slain owner’s wife also said that her husband and the gunman knew one another, as her husband had recently baked a birthday cake for the gunman.
According to her, the female worker seemed to be traumatized after the shooting, though she was uninjured.
No officers were hurt.
The gunman faces several charges, though officers did not say what those charges would be.
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