J.D. Gallop

FLORIDA TODAY

Investigators are searching for answers in what may have led a 29-year-old suspected gunman with a history of being detained for mental health observation to carry out what authorities say was an ‘extremely random’ shooting that claimed two lives inside Parrish Medical Center.

The shooting, which apparently involved the random targeting of a patient, appears to be ‘strictly an isolated incident,” Brevard County Sheriff’s spokesman Cpl. David Jacobs reported.

The suspected gunman was identified as David Owens, 29, of Titusville, and was known to law enforcement officers who had interacted with him over the years in a series of arrests ranging from drug possession to battery.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the two victims, their families,” said Titusville Police Chief John Lau, adding that the agency ruled out the attack as something coordinated or related to any outside events. "(Owens) is known to us and he does have a criminal history, but nothing that would make you think it would get on from there,” he said.

Owens, who appeared disheveled after he was removed from the four-story hospital, was booked into the Brevard County Jail Complex about 10 a.m. Sunday and charged with two counts of first-degree premeditated murder. He is being held without bond and will appear before a judge at the jail Monday afternoon.

The victims were identified as 88-year-old Cynthia Zingsheim, who was a patient at the hospital, and 36-year-old employee Carrie Rouzer, a ‘patient sitter,’ assigned to accompany Zingsheim. Little else was known about the victims late Sunday. Both were shot to death in a room on the third floor, where the 210-bed hospital's birthing suites — which are kept behind a separate layer of security — are also located.

The deadly shooting happened just after 2 a.m. at Parrish Medical Center in Titusville, prompting a massive response from several dozen officers with the Titusville Police Department and the Brevard County sheriff’s department. Authorities determined within the first hour of the event that the suspect acted alone and that no other facilities were affected in Brevard.

Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey, accompanied by Lau, spoke shortly after the hospital was cleared by deputies. Both offered limited details of what happened but the suspect somehow entered the facility, which has an open air, atrium-style design that allows visitors to see all four floors, and got to the third floor. The hospital’s security staff also happened to be escorting another person out of the facility at the same time when the gunshots were heard by patients and staff.

“(Rouzer) was sitting in the patient's room,” Chief Lau said of the hospital worker.

Once the gunshots were heard, hospital officers issued a ‘silver alert,’ for staffers and doctors, which means that someone with a weapon was inside the facility. It was then that the hospital guards managed to capture Owens as he stepped out of Zingsheim’s room.

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After fatally wounding the women, authorities said Owens left one handgun used in the attack in the room and stepped out into the hallway where he was tackled by unarmed hospital security officers Matt Dolin and Jason Rowley. Dolin and Rowley were able to subdue Owens until police arrived.

“They acted to attack the suspect and worked as a team, keeping others from getting hurt,” Lau said of Dolin and Rowley’s actions during a press conference. “There's no doubt about that,” he said.

Witnesses at the hospital reported seeing over a dozen patrol cars with flashing blue and red emergency lights in front of the hospital.

Officers carrying assault rifles cleared each floor and checked rooms.

Ambulances were also diverted for a short time to other medical facilities, Ivey said.

Later, Lau said residents and businesses must work to plan and protect themselves as such shootings continue to plague the nation. "It can happen anywhere," he said during a second news conference. “We can’t stress enough…you cannot wait for the response of your local police to get there. You have to take action yourself and they did,” he said of the hospital’s security team.

Detectives also were interviewing possible witnesses but officials believe that Owens did not know the women who were killed. Owens has an extensive criminal arrest record, including charges related to Oxycodone possession, sale of cocaine. Battery on a law enforcement agent, robbery and battery. Records also show that Owens, whose appearance at the time of his mug shot was disheveled, was taken into custody at least twice for a mental health evaluation since 2006, court records show.

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“It doesn't appear to be any connection between the individual and the victims. It appears to be random,” Sheriff Ivey said during a broadcast press conference.

Sunday’s deadly attack was also the second deadly shooting to take place on hospital grounds in less than a decade.

In June 2009, a nursing assistant named Yolanda Garvin-Williams was shot several times in the hospital parking lot by her estranged husband, police said. The shooting prompted concerns about hospital security along with stricter protocols to protect staffers and patients at the public facility.

“I worked with Yolanda. After that they had active shooter training. But I never felt like I wasn’t at ease,” said Patricia Casper, a 63-year-old former clerical worker who worked for two decades at Parrish as a floating staff member. She sometimes also worked as a patient sitter, like Rouzer, a job that allowed staff members to sit with patients who may not have family or who were in need of company during their hospital stay.

Hours after Sunday's shooting, Parrish Medical issued a notice to visitors and non-emergency room patients to use the hospital's front entrance only and issued a statement about the situation online. "Our hearts are with the families of the two victims of today’s tragic and senseless shooting. We commend our care partners for their loving service and their exceptional response," the hospital said in a social media post.

News of the shooting was disturbing for Casper, who heard the news and immediately thought of her former colleagues, including Garvin-Williams.

“I have hope that this will get better,” she said, referring to the spate of shooting events that have claims numerous lives across the nation in recent years.

By 6 a.m., investigators and crime scene technicians were on the third floor conducting interviews and gathering evidence. Hospital officials credited the two security officers with potentially saving other lives. The hospital also said that protocols were followed and that recent training helped staff members to react quickly in the situation. Late Sunday, hospital officials sent out a notice for visitors to use the front entrance of the hospital.

“We’re a public facility and we welcome anyone into our facility,” said Natalie Sellers, spokeswoman for the hospital. She said security officers’ actions “resulted in lives saved,” she said during the news conference.

Hospital officials added that they planned to review the incident for further actions.

“Again, our hearts are broken for the families affected by this tragedy, and we are supporting our care partners, patients and families,” a statement from the hospital read. “We thank the community for their support.”

Contact Gallop at 321-242-3642, jdgallop@floridatoday.com and Twitter@JDGallop