Five fatally shot inside Florida bank

A gunman who fatally shot five people in a central Florida bank phoned police to tell them what he had done.

Five people have been killed in the United States with the gunman still on the run Source: Getty Images

A gunman has opened fire inside a Florida bank, killing five people before surrendering to a SWAT team, police say.

The shooter called police to report that he had fired shots inside the bank in Sebring, in central Florida on Wednesday.

Negotiations failed to persuade the barricaded man to leave the building. The SWAT team then entered the bank, and the gunman eventually gave up, police said.

Investigators did not offer a possible motive, and a police spokesman said he did not know if the attack began as a robbery. The victims were not immediately identified.

"Today's been a tragic day in our community," Sebring Police Chief Karl Hoglund told a news conference. "We've suffered significant loss at the hands of a senseless criminal doing a senseless crime."

Authorities identified the suspect as 21-year-old Zephen Xaver, who was arrested at the SunTrust branch, Hoglund said.

Xaver briefly was an online student of Salt Lake City-based Stevens-Henager College. A spokeswoman for the college, Sherrie Martin, confirmed that Xaver was enrolled from September 2018 until December, when he withdrew. She said his residence was listed as Sebring.

Florida Department of Corrections records show that Xaver was hired as a trainee prison guard at Avon Park Correctional Institution on November 2 and resigned on January 9. No disciplinary issues were reported.

Governor Ron DeSantis said the Florida Department of Law Enforcement would assist Sebring police and the Highlands County sheriff's office.

"Obviously, this is an individual who needs to face very swift and exacting justice," DeSantis said of the suspect.

An FBI mobile command unit arrived at the bank Wednesday evening to join the investigation.

John Larose, who lives next door to Xaver's home, said Xaver and his mother had moved in several months ago. Xaver kept to himself, but Larose said he could hear Xaver playing and yelling at video games in the middle of the night.