Electrician goes on savage rampage killing three co-workers with baseball bat, knife

A man has been charged after he allegedly killed three of his co-workers with a knife and a baseball bat during a violent rampage.

Shaun Runyon, 39, an electrician from Polk County, Florida, got into a dispute with his boss at a home where they were temporarily living on Friday about 2am local time before punching him and leaving, police said.

Sheriff Grady Judd said Runyon returned on Saturday morning, “went into the house with a baseball bat and a knife and he stabbed and beat people inside the residence”.

“There were seven people living in the residence,” Sheriff Judd told reporters.

“There were seven victims. One victim was beaten to death in his bed while he slept.”

Two others died – one was found dead on the front porch of the home while another died in hospital.

Sheriff Grady said Runyon chased another person into the street and hit him in the shoulder and back with the bat.

Three others, which included a man, wife and their seven-year-old daughter, were able to flee the scene without harm.

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Runyon too fled the scene, Sheriff Grady said. An “intensive” manhunt found him.

“We saw where he fled from the area through a blood trail,” he said.

He added Runyon “had nothing to lose”.

“Who else was he going to kill before he ended up in custody?” he said.

Sheriff Grady said Runyon showed up covered in blood at a “random” house and told the residents he had been raped.

“And he takes off these bloodied clothes and leaves them at the residence,” he said.

The residents told Runyon to go to a hospital. It was there where he was arrested.

Sheriff Grady claims Runyon has confessed to the killings. He added Runyon knew all of the victims but it is not clear what led to his alleged rampage.

Runyon is also charged in Northampton County in eastern Pennsylvania with a felony count of strangulation on May 21 along with misdemeanour counts of child endangerment, terroristic threat, reckless endangerment and other charges.

He was scheduled for formal arraignment and a pretrial conference October 14.

Sheriff Grady called the scene “horrific”.

with The Associated Press

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