MAY 15 2013
FORT PIERCE FLA
Two armed men exchanged fire with a security officer at a La Quinta Inn in Fort Pierce during an attempted robbery about 1 a.m., Fort Pierce spokesman Sgt. Dennis McWilliams said.
The security officer was not injured and it’s uncertain whether the two men who fled the scene in a black sport utility vehicle were hit by the guard’s fire, McWilliams said. Police continue to look for the suspects.
The two men entered the La Quinta Inn at 2655 Crossroads Parkway shortly after 1 a.m. Preliminary information indicates the men came in and got into the office area where the clerk would be, but the clerk apparently suspected trouble and was able to hide in a back room, McWilliams said.
“So they never really confronted anyone,” McWilliams said. But on the suspects' way out, an armed security officer identified himself and chased the men as they left. The guard has told police they shot at him and he shot back, McWilliams said.
Police are not releasing details about what was taken during the robbery.
ST PETERSBURG FLA
Police say that a fired security guard shot the hotel manager and later committed suicide.
Detectives have identified Anthony Graig Taylor, 45, as the man accused of shooting the manager at a St. Petersburg motel and then killing himself early Tuesday morning.
Witnesses told police Taylor had worked as a security guard and was staying in one of the rooms at the New Plaza Motel but was fired because he had gotten into "several confrontations" with motel patriots, St. Petersburg Police.
Taylor was still allowed to rent a room after his firing but had recently been told he was evicted because he was behind on his rent, police said.
The motive in the shooting of manager Jerome Horacek remains unclear, police said, because Horacek was not responsible for Taylor's firing or eviction. The two had had "casual conversation" about an hour before the shooting, officials said.
Detectives said they believe Taylor may have been attempting to rob Horacek, "who immediately attempted to flee once Taylor entered the office and pointed the handgun at him," the police stated. Taylor "was seen shooting out of the window at the office entrance as Horacek fled.
Horaceck suffered multiple gunshot wounds in his upper torso but is expected to survive, authorities said.
A K-9 unit later found Taylor's body in a lot at 3462 3rd Ave. N. after he had apparently committed suicide with the same handgun used in the shooting, according to police.
The investigation is still ongoing.
AURORA, CO.
A student was injured Monday at an Aurora, Colo., high school after he was accidentally shot by an armed security officer.
Police report that the student was getting a ride home from a Rangeview High School employee who also works as an armed security officer at the school.
The employee was putting the gun into the glove box when it discharged, hitting the student in the leg and causing a "significant injury," police said.
The school employee drove the student from the school parking lot to a nearby hospital.
The student, whose name and age were not released, is expected to survive.
Police did not say why the employee was driving the student home about an hour after school ended.
No charges have been filed at this point.