TITUSVILLE, Fla. – Titusville police released the identity Thursday of the 64-year-old motel owner whom investigators said was shot and killed Wednesday by a man who was staying there.
Police said Daniel Wade, owner of the Siesta Motor Inn along South Washington Avenue in Titusville, was shot just before 11 a.m. Wednesday.
[TRENDING: Owner pulls the plug on Orlando’s last RadioShack after 52 years in business | ‘Never been done before:’ News 6 investigation helps lead to arrest of gas pump manipulators | Become a News 6 Insider]
Mark Wade — the slain owner’s brother — told News 6 that the gunman had been a guest staying in Room No. 3 since June, and Daniel Wade couldn’t have been nicer to him.
Mark Wade said that his brother threw the now-suspected killer a birthday party just last week.
“Danny found out that he didn’t have any family here to celebrate his birthday, and so Danny and wife, Mimi, fixed him a birthday cake and got some of the other guests together and had him a birthday party, and he was so appreciative,” Mark Wade said.
Officers said the gunman shot Wade and then tried to shoot a housekeeper, but his gun jammed.
Mark Wade said his brother thought the suspect was joking when he saw the gun.
“He said, ‘I hope that’s not what it looks like,’” Wade said. “And the guy fired the first shot, which missed Danny, and then he fired the second shot, which killed him.”
Investigators said the gunman ran, but he was eventually found on Forest Road, where they tried to detain him. The gunman opened fire, which led to an officer returning fire, records show.
Several witnesses said the suspect then shot himself in the head. He was taken to a hospital in critical condition.
Police said no officers were shot, and the gunman will face numerous charges if he lives. The accused killer’s name has not yet been released.
Mark Wade remembered his brother for his generosity and popularity with his guests.
“Danny was the one that everybody liked,” he said. “Danny was the one they called the ‘Host with the Most’ because he was so good to everyone that came here to the motel.”
Wade is also a motel owner in Titusville and said he’s now going to help his brother’s widow with running the business.
See our previous coverage on this story in the video player below:
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily: