© Craig Rubadoux / FLORIDA TODAYTwo people were killed in a shooting at Parrish Medical Center in Titusville early Sunday.
The suspected gunman was identified as David Owens, 29, of Titusville. He was booked into the Brevard County Jail Complex about 10 a.m. Sunday and charged with two counts of first-degree premeditated murder and is being held on a no bond status.
The victims were named as 88-year-old Cynthia Zingsheim, who was a patient at the hospital, and 36-year-old employee Carrie Rouzer. Both were shot in a room on the third floor, where the 210-bed hospital's birthing suites are also located.
According to Titusville police, the suspect left one handgun used in the attack in the room before being tackled by unarmed hospital security personnel and detained until police arrived.
"They acted to attack the suspect and worked as a team, keeping others from getting hurt," Titusville Chief John Lau said of the hospital security during a press conference. "There's no doubt about that," he said.
Later Lau said residents and businesses must work to plan and protect themselves as such shootings continue to plague the nation. "It can happen anywhere," he said during a second news conference.
"It doesn't appear to be any connection between the individual and the victims. It appears to be random," Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey said during a broadcast press conference.
It was the second deadly shooting to take place on hospital grounds in less than a decade.
In June 2009, a nursing assistant was shot several times in the hospital parking lot by her estranged husband, police said. The shooting prompted concerns about hospital security along with stricter protocols to protect staffers and patients at the public facility.
Hours after Sunday's shooting, Parrish Medical issued a notice to visitors and non-emergency room patients to use the hospital's front entrance only and issued a statement about the situation online. "Our hearts are with the families of the two victims of today's tragic and senseless shooting. We commend our care partners for their loving service and their exceptional response," the hospital said in a social media post.
Authorities don't believe the situation affects any other facilities in the county.
"Comment: Is there "something in the air" recently that's causing people to lose any remaining semblances of sanity that they had left?"
I wonder if this has anything to do with it (from:The End of Eden : The Comet That Changed Civilization)
"In the year 2024, the comet 12P/Pons-Brooks is due to pass near Earth again for the first time in 3,500 years. In 1500 B.C., Earth passed through this comet’s tail, and in the decade following, cultures the world over began to exhibit significant aggressive tendencies. Civilizations in India, the Middle East, China, Japan, Europe, and Central America suddenly abandoned their peaceful ways and devoted themselves with uncharacteristic fervor to making war on their neighbors and fighting among themselves."
Maybe it is the comet, or maybe the comet comes around at the same time as something else. But by what mechanism do these changes occur? I think there may be more to what's going on that simple aggression.