Zephen Xaver

Zephen A. Xaver is an American mass shooter who killed five people at the SunTrust Bank in Sebring, Florida on January 23, 2019. After being named a suspect in the shooting, 21-year-old Xaver turned himself in to police. He has pleaded not guilty to five murders. Prosecutors intend to seek the death penalty.

Background
An ex-girlfriend has stated that Xaver had been “fascinated with death and guns." She also said he even sent her a picture of handgun a few weeks before the shooting, but she didn't think anything of it at the time. Friends and family described him as quiet but friendly.

According to the same ex-girlfriend, he was later expelled from high school for allegedly threatening to "kill everyone in his class." After this, he developed a deep loathing for people in general.

In March 2017, Michigan State Police contacted the Bremen Police Department to report that a female student was getting messages from Xaver saying he was "possibly thinking of suicide by cop" and "taking hostages," the police report said. Officers contacted his mother, who declined police assistance and said she would speak with him, it said.

Xaver entered US Army basic training in March 2016, but left three months later before he completed training.

The shooting
At around 12:30 pm, a witness says he saw Xaver pacing back and forth inside the bank with five people lying side by side on the floor. Shots were later heard, and Xaver phoned the police at 12:36 pm ET, and told responders that he had shot five people SWAT arrived, trying to negotiate to get Xaver - who had barricaded himself inside - to leave the bank. When those negotiations failed, members of the SWAT team entered the bank by ramming an armored vehicle through its glass front doors. Xaver eventually surrendered.

Victims
Five women were discovered by police, shot execution style in their heads and backs. They were identified over the week as:


 * Debra Cook, 54, employee
 * Marisol Lopez, 55, employee
 * Jessica Montague, 31, employee
 * Cynthia Watson, 65, customer
 * Ana Piñon-Williams, 37, employee

Aftermath
Xaver was charged with five counts of capital murder is being held by police without bond. He was appointed a public defender as he had no income or assets. On February 22, he entered a plea of not guilty in the case against him.