A grandmother and a boy have passed away after the incident on Thursday.
Their family has not disclosed their names in order to keep their identities private, but it is truly a tragedy to hear about in this time and day.
Luckily, as of June 11th, law enforcement officials have identified the gunman. His name is Timothy J. Wall, and further updates will be posted in the upcoming week. There was evidence that he had made threats against children on his social media, and his family commented that the man was schizophrenic.
Located in the Publix, a man had walked into the produce section and fatally shot a woman along with her two-year-old grandson before turning the gun towards himself. The woman and toddler’s identity are not revealed to the public, and it invokes their rights under a 2018 amendment to their state’s constitution.
The sheriff’s office had identified the gunman, Timothy J. Wall, who is at the age of 55 located in Royal Palm Beach. There is no clear motive as to why he chose his targets, and they are unsure if there are any connections between the victims and the culprit. The case is still being investigated by detectives.
They found the gun was found near the man’s body and that his injuries were self inflicted.
The Publix is in the The Crossroads shopping plaza and would remain closed until Saturday since the incident.
Customers can take the items they had left behind at the time of the incident and on noon on the upcoming Friday. They have been safely bagged and a deputy will help by distributing them.
The attack had sent shoppers into a panic and one commented, “I was scared. It’s sad because everything happened fast. I heard, “They’re shooting! Run! Shooting!”
Bystanders outside of the shopping plaza had expressed their concerns and condolences after a series of mass shootings around the country had spiked up. Located in the same state, it is days away from the five-year-anniversary of the rampage that occurred at the Pulse nightclub that left 50 dead.
Store patrons are saddened because it is a “friendly Publix” and “can’t believe this crazy thing happened.”