2 killed in 'extremely random' Florida hospital shooting

last updated 17 July 2016

An 88-year-old patient named Cynthia Zingsheim and a 36-year-old hospital employee named Carrie Rouzer were fatally shot at Parrish Medical Center, a hospital in Titusville, Florida, early Sunday morning. Titusville is east of Orlando and adjacent to the Kennedy Space Center.

The suspect has been identified as 29-year-old David Owens, who was restrained by unarmed hospital security and arrested. "I cannot stress enough, the response of the Parrish Medical Center staff, without a doubt, saved more lives," said Titusville police Chief John Lau.

To date, there is no known motive or link between the shooter and his victims, who are all Titusville residents. "It appears to be extremely random," said Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey. "There may be something later in the day that connects the dots for us." Owens has been charged with two counts of murder, and Lau is expected to provide more information in a press conference Sunday afternoon.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.

Subscribe to The Week

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox