Kevin Robert Holroyd, the suspected Panama City shooter, was found dead after a bomb squad breached the front door of the townhome where he barricaded himself during an armed standoff with police in Florida.
Holroyd, 49, was wanted in connection with the fatal shooting of 30-year-old Clinton Street in Walton County on 22 May. WKRG reported Street was engaged to the suspect's ex-wife. Authorities are yet to suggest or confirm any motive.
The alleged shooter returned to Bay County and the local sheriff's office put his home under surveillance to determine if he was there at Briarwood Apartments on Beck Avenue, Panama City. He was reportedly in the process of being evicted from his home and had a criminal record for disorderly conduct.
Neighbors in the block reported smelling gas fumes and firefighters were called to the block. The investigators surveilling Holroyd's apartment emerged from their vehicles to talk to the firefighters when the shooter opened fire from an upstairs window of his home.
"The Panama City Police Department responded to the scene and came under gunfire, as did responding Bay County Sheriff's Office deputies," said a statement from the sheriff.
"It is estimated about 100 rounds were shot during the altercation. Officers exchanged gunfire with Holroyd, but were in a dangerous tactical situation due to the fact he was firing from an elevated, second story window."
SWAT units, a bomb squad, and armored vehicles were deployed to the scene during the shootout, which the Bay County Sheriff's Office described as "heavy gunfire." The bomb squad breached the front door with explosives, but Holroyd had barricaded himself in from the inside.
"Several robots were deployed to evaluate and one was used to break the sliding glass door at the back of the townhome and a multi-agency SWAT team entered the townhome through an upstairs window using the elevated platform on top of the BearCat [an armored vehicle]," the sheriff's office said.
"It was then that law enforcement realized Holroyd had saturated the inside of the townhome with gasoline. The fumes likely prompted the report of gas fumes earlier by another resident.
"Inside the townhome, law enforcement found Kevin Robert Holroyd deceased. They also found flares and believe Holroyd intended to start a fire using a flare to ignite the gasoline. Also found in the home was hundreds of rounds of ammunition, several high powered rifles, and Holroyd was wearing body armor when found."
Holroyd's Facebook page shows that, in between pictures of his children, he regularly shared anti-Black Lives Matter articles.
In one status update on 2 October, 2017, railing against the kneeling protests by NFL players, Holroyd shared: "The goal of the globalists is the dismantling of our American heritage, and thereby the destruction of our identity as a nation. Removing historical statues is the beginning. Removing the flag and the anthem is next.
"Ultimately the goal is to remove the constitution. If we keep giving in and continue to accept the dismantling of our culture and the removal of our heritage, then we become what the globalists want... A 3rd world country prime for socialist/communist control."
Investigation is ongoing.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Shane Croucher is a Senior Editor based in London, UK. He oversees the My Turn team. He has previously overseen ... Read more
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