A Florida man is accused of fatally bludgeoning two men and hurting a woman with a baseball bat while a 10-year-old phoned police from a room nearby, according to multiple reports.
Ezekiel Emanuel Hopkins, 34, allegedly broke onto the property of John and Lisa Savey’s Windermere home late Thursday by driving his vehicle into a gate at the entrance. He then attempted to steal a car before the pair stopped him, according to Windermere Police Chief David Ogden and local affiliate Fox 35 Orlando.
“He attacked John Savey, leaving him dead outside the residence. The defendant then went inside the residence and attacked Lisa Savey who had retreated into her home,” Ogden said during a related press conference. “The defendant also attacked John and Lisa Savey’s son, James Savey, leaving him dead inside the house.”
All the while, John and Lisa’s grandson, James’ nephew, called 911 from a bathroom where his grandmother had ordered him to hide, the outlet reported.
“I don’t believe the family was targeted,” Ogden said. “I believe that he was just trying to look for another vehicle to steal because he had seen some police officers some time before looking at him.”
Hopkins was discovered inside another bathroom, unresponsive after police suspect he drank bleach, according to the report.
He was taken to a nearby hospital and charged with murder and aggravated battery.
The woman was seriously injured and was rushed to an area hospital, the outlet reported.
“Words really can’t describe what we want to say to the family,” Ogden said. “It’s a horrific situation.”