An angry friend stormed into a Narcotics Anonymous meeting in Edgewater, Fla. on Monday night, killing a man and briefly taking his girlfriend hostage before killing her and then turning the gun on himself.
Local police chief Joseph Mahoney described the incident as a “domestic” dispute.
At around 7 p.m., Quinton Francis Hunter, 49, commonly known as “Rags,” stormed into the Narcotics Anonymous meeting at a rented group meeting room at 515 North Ridgewood Avenue and immediately killed Ian Greenfield, 59, according to Mahoney.
The gunman then took his girlfriend Erica Hoffman, 33, hostage while the other participants fled the building.
Edgewater Police surrounded the building and attempted to negotiate with the confused man, but kept their SWAT team nearby.
“We tried to contact the suspect to negotiate; However, it was unsuccessful,” Mahoney said.
The tactical special unit was sent in, but the shooting was already done.
Large pieces of cinder block were ripped apart during a SWAT raid on a Narcotics Anonymous meeting where a gunman had taken his girlfriend hostage
Edgewater Police tried to negotiate with the gunman who had taken his girlfriend hostage, but after he didn’t respond, he broke down the door
A large black tactical vehicle could be seen outside the building where a gunman killed his girlfriend and another man and after a brief pause shot himself
Narcotics Anonymous’ fateful meeting took place behind 515 North Ridgewood Avenue in Edgewater
Emergency vehicles blocked the road Monday night as police attempted to negotiate with a gunman who had killed a man and taken his girlfriend hostage. He ended up killing her and himself
“We broke into the building and found three bodies, including the suspect,” the chief said.
News reports photos and footage showed a large black tactical vehicle parked at the back of the building after the suicide killing.
The back door was in the parking lot, and pieces of the cider block had been ripped out of the door.
Hoffman and Greenfield were killed during the standoff at the Bridge the Gap meeting on North Ridgewood Avenue.
The shooter, Quinton Francis Hunter, appears to have captured Facebook Live video of the NA meeting but said nothing during the video, Fox 35 reported.
Police say it appears he had already shot the victims before going live.
“At this time, we believe this is a domestic incident and there is no further danger to the public,” Mahoney added.
According to police, Hunter and Hoffman were at one point in a relationship.
Greenfield and Hoffman were friends, but it’s not known if it was a romantic relationship, Fox 35 reported.
Narcotics Anonymous offers regular meetings for men and women struggling with addiction where they can share their experiences and help each other stay off drugs.
Eric Lancaster, head of Bridging the Gap, a social services charity that rents the front office where the shooting took place, said the violence was “very unusual”.
“There has never been anything like this. They have rented this space for a couple of years and there has never been any violence,” he said. “They don’t disturb our space and we don’t disturb theirs.”
Edgewater, with 23,097 residents, is a working-class town about 20 miles south of Daytona Beach, Florida.
