Suspect in Florida bank attack dreamed of hurting classmates

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, left, addresses the media as she stands with Sebring Police Chief Karl Hoglund, center, and Highlands County Sheriff Paul Blackman during a news conference, Thursday, Jan. 24, 2019, in Sebring, Fla. Five people were shot and killed on the day before at a SunTrust Bank. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)

A man accused of fatally shooting five women at a small-town bank in Florida had dreamed of hurting classmates in high school and had long been fascinated with killing, police and a former girlfriend said Thursday.

The slayings did not appear to be part of a robbery, and Zephen Xaver had no apparent connection to the SunTrust branch or the four employees and one customer who were killed Wednesday, police said.

This Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2019, booking photo released by the Highlands County Sheriff’s Office shows Zephen Xaver, 21, who was charged with five counts of premeditated murder in the shooting deaths of the four bank employees and a customer in Sebring, Fla. (Highlands County Sheriff’s Office via AP)

“We believe it was a random act,” Sebring Police Chief Karl Hoglund said Thursday at a news conference. “Aside from perhaps driving by and seeing it was a bank, we have no known evidence that he targeted this bank for any particular reason.”

If the gunman had driven 10 seconds farther, just one more driveway, the victims might have been Carol Davis, who manages a hair salon and spa, and her staff and customers.

“He could have come here. He could have gone anywhere. It could happen anywhere,” Davis said.

Xaver, 21, was charged Thursday with five counts of premeditated murder. Just months ago, he moved from northern Indiana to Sebring, about 80 miles southeast of Tampa. He had recently quit his job as a prison guard trainee.

From police and witness accounts, he entered the bank about 12:30 p.m. when the five women were alone. The bank stands apart along U.S. 27, a busy four-lane highway in Sebring, a tourist and retirement city of 10,000 known for an annual endurance auto race that draws some of the world’s top drivers.

The victims were found lying face down, their bodies surrounded by shell casings, according to court documents. Six minutes after the attack began, Xaver called 911 and told dispatchers that he had killed everyone inside, Hoglund said.

Davis said she looked out her window and saw police officers everywhere, many carrying rifles. “I have never seen stuff like that except in the movies.”

Xaver refused to surrender and would not allow officers to reach the victims, Hoglund said. After more than an hour of negotiations, a SWAT team used an armored vehicle to break through the front doors. Xaver was found in a back office, and all the victims were dead, the chief said.