Photo: Joe Raedle / Getty Images
A Hillsborough County Sheriff’s deputy murdered his partner then shot himself
, during a vacation trip accompanied by other colleagues.
“Tragically, the incident is being investigated as a murder-suicide,” reported the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office. He further stated that Detective Daniel Leyden was heard arguing with another officer just before the shots were fired.
The bodies of the agents were found with fatal injuries last Sunday in a house for rent in St. Augustine.
“Our Sheriff’s Office family is still reeling from the shock of this unthinkable tragedy,” said Hillsborough Sheriff Chad Chronister. “My prayers for strength and comfort go out to the families and loved ones of these deputies, and to every member of the HCSO Team affected by this painful loss.”
Preliminary investigation found Leyden, a detective working with the Criminal Investigations Division, was the only shooter. The name of the victim, an agent of the District III of the Uniform Patrol, was not revealed .
“Violence is never a solution, and I urge any employee dealing with a crisis to take advantage of the many resources our agency has created in recent years, which include peer support, chaplains and a clinical psychologist. Help is just a phone call away.”
The Sheriff’s Office responded to the block 2022 off A1A South in the Butler Beach area for a report of shots fired early Sunday morning.
He concluded that “this is an isolated incident and there are no threats to the public.
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