Shortly after noon, a man contacted emergency dispatchers and reported that he had fired shots inside a SunTrust Bank branch on a strip of U.S. Route 27 between Lake Jackson and Little Lake Jackson. The Sebring Police Department and the Highlands County Sheriff’s Office responded, according to a statement.
The officers tried to persuade the man to exit the bank. When that was unsuccessful, the sheriff’s SWAT team entered the bank, and the person surrendered. By midafternoon Wednesday, police said there was no longer any danger to the area.
“We are sorry to learn that we have at least five victims, people who were senselessly murdered, as a result of his act in this bank,” Chief Karl Hoglund of the Sebring police said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon.
He identified the man in custody as Zephen Xaver, 21, a resident of Sebring. But he said that the families of the victims had not yet been notified. “This is a very dynamic and ongoing investigation,” he added.
Sheriff Paul Blackman said that authorities expected to release more information about the shooting Thursday morning.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.