Electrician Uses Bat And Knife To Kill 3 Co-Workers In Florida

Davenport, FL – An electrician from Pennsylvania who was in Florida for work killed three co-workers he was living with on Oct. 2 at the Polk County home they were sharing.

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said the incident began on Friday when 39-year-old Shaun Runyon got into a dispute with his supervisor at their job site, Lehigh Valley Live reported.

Runyon and a group of co-workers were living together in a house about 35 miles west of Orlando while they did work at a nearby Publix for their employer, J&B Electric.

Sheriff Judd said that Runyon punched his supervisor on Oct. 1 and then fled the jobsite, Lehigh Valley Live reported.

Then he went back to the house where he was staying with seven co-workers and their families and began attacking them with a knife and a baseball bat.

Sheriff Judd said Runyon beat one man to death with a bat as he slept, Lehigh Valley Live reported.

Deputies found a second victim dead on the front porch of the house.

A third victim was transported to the hospital in extremely critical condition and died there, Lehigh Valley Live reported.

Sheriff Judd said that Runyon chased a fourth victim into the street with a baseball bat and hit him.

The sheriff said a fifth man escaped safely with his wife and seven-year-old daughter, Lehigh Valley Live reported.

He said that after the attacks, Runyon fled the scene, leaving a bloody trail in his wake.

Authorities launched a large-scale manhunt for the killer, involving multiple law enforcement agencies, police K9s, drones, and a helicopter, Lehigh Valley Live reported.

Sheriff Judd said Runyon turned up in his bloody clothing at the home of a random couple who lived in Lake Wales and claimed he had been raped, CBS News reported.

The couple urged him to go to the hospital for treatment.

Sheriff Judd said Runyon discarded his bloody clothing at the couple’s home and went to the hospital where he was eventually taken into custody, CBS News reported.

“He knew all of these victims. We have no idea what outraged him so bad that more than 24 hours later he would come back and make an attempt to kill every one of them,” the sheriff told reporters after Runyon had been arrested, Lehigh Valley Live reported.

Runyon was already facing charges back home in Pennsylvania.

He was arrested in May and charged with felony strangulation and a series of misdemeanors that included endangering the welfare of children, terroristic threats, and reckless endangerment, Lehigh Valley Live reported.

Northampton County court records showed that Runyon posted 10 percent of his $75,000 bail and was released on May 28.