After a couple refused to give him a cigarette lighter, Robert Pannell allegedly shot and killed a hotel employee in Florida.
A man allegedly murdered a hotel employee, and while detectives are still looking into what happened, they say it happened after a couple “could not give” him a cigarette lighter.
Suspect Robert Pannell Kills Hotel Employee
Records reveal that deputies in McCracken County, Kentucky, lodged Robert Pannell, 55, into the county jail on charges including murder.
Pannell was apprehended in the parking lot by a police officer. A deputy sheriff searched the hotel and found the employee on the first level. The woman had been shot multiple times in the head and torso.
During the inquiry, officers learned that Pannell allegedly assaulted a couple in the parking lot after they refused to give him a cigarette lighter. He then entered the hotel and fired fire at random, killing the employee. No one else was hurt in the incident.
Pannell, who was staying at the hotel at the time of the incident, was from Palm Coast. According to jail records, he is being held at the McCracken County Jail on a $2.5 million combined bond.
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Florida Police Responds
“During the subsequent investigation, it was discovered that the suspect, Robert Pannell, had assaulted a male and female in the parking lot of the hotel after the couple could not give Pannell a cigarette lighter,” according to deputies.
Pannell then went inside the hotel with a handgun and walked down a hallway. Pannell then shot the female victim and shot multiple rounds indiscriminately.
Multiple people were in close proximity to Pannell when he indiscriminately fired his handgun.
At some point, Pannell threw his handgun inside the lobby of the hotel. Pannell was a guest at the hotel, but so far it is undetermined what led to his actions. Detectives are currently and will continue to investigate, deputies said.
Pannell was characterized by authorities as being from Palm Coast, Florida. They are unsure why he was in Paducah.
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