Community in shock after two employees killed at Indian River County library
Morning, everyone. I’m David Curry, Vero Beach Police Chief. So I just want to start out this morning by first saying that this incident took place, as you know, yesterday morning. We’ll go into some details with that, but we have *** very, very active investigation going on. We have *** number of vehicles that have search warrants and evidentiary activity and searching of to include *** home or two. So just understand that we’re following up leads. People are calling. We have some information from the shoreline. And again, we’re just our people are working around the clock for the most part, so we’re going to share this information what we can today and I’m going to answer your questions the best I can, but there are certainly questions as you can imagine that I won’t be able to answer today, merely 24 hours later, so we’ll start. Yesterday at 3:24-2026 at approximately 7:01 a.m., Vero Beach police officers responded to reports of multiple gunshots in the area of 1600 Block 21st Street. Many of you were there already. That’s our, our main library in River County main library. That’s within our city limits downtown. Upon arrival. Officers located two adult victims, *** male and *** female, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds in and around *** vehicle in *** nearby parking lot just north of the library there, *** large parking lot. The pictures there on the screen, folks, there we go. Thank you. So that’s victim number one of our victims, female victim, Stacy Ellis Mason with her date of birth and age there. And then we’ll share with you the second victim, male, Danny Ui as well. Other slide. There’s our male victim, again, date of birth and age. So Stacy is the wife of our suspect, uh, who is currently uh *** person of interest. Let’s show him *** slide of that as well, and again, we’ll get into some details. Jesse Ellis with his information there as well. 13 years, we understand about 13 years of marriage with Stacy E as in Ellis Mason. Yes, Detectives quickly obtained and reviewed surveillance footage from the area. Which captured the suspect approaching the victims, opening fire on the vehicle. So we’re not going to be able to share that surveillance video with you just yet. We’re talking with the state attorney’s office, kind of combing through that as well. That’s part of our active investigation, but there is some surveillance video that we obtained from the library area. Again, Mr. Ellis approached the driver’s side door. I’ll back up just *** second. Um, Mr. Oli arrived at the parking lot, backed his Ford Ranger into one of the parking spaces, and shortly thereafter. Miss Mason pulled up *** parking space apart from the Ranger, pulled in driving an SUV VW. She got out of her vehicle, walked around to the passenger side of the Ford Ranger, got into the vehicle with Mr. U. And then shortly thereafter we see *** suspect coming toward the front passenger side of the vehicle and firing multiple shots into the vehicle and then going around to the passenger side. Miss O’s falling out of the vehicle or being pulled out of the vehicle and he shoots multiple rounds at that time as well to Mason. The vehicle believed to be associated with the suspect we later located at South Beach. He had left the scene on foot. Obviously he had parked his truck somewhere, left and went to South Beach. We later found that out. As you can imagine, we’re on scene there trying to discern and find out all the information we can. We had the medical examiner’s office en route. We had the state attorney’s office en route. The sheriff’s department was coming to assist with our crime scene. So *** lot at that scene at the library was going on. And meanwhile we’re trying to develop suspect information and find whereabouts and what have you and and truly learn about the victims as well so we can get leads and find out. Of course we have to remember next of kin we only were able to notify Ms. Mason’s parents who were in Vermont late last night. So *** lot of that again was very important before we share information. So at approximately 8:30 yesterday we had *** call that came in. The sheriff’s department, I’m sorry, the fire department responded. Personnel, they responded to the area of Reammar Country Club on our beachside. Because we had *** call from *** female that was walking by the beach area, she called in to us about 8 o’clock or so a.m. Mind you, we’re only on scene over here for about an hour. She calls in saying she’s describing an older male, uh, tall, going into the ocean. We responded. The fire department responded. They, they put their, I believe it’s *** zodiac style boat in the, in the ocean in the Reamar Country Club area. And they advised that he was about 900 yards from the shore again off of that area. And we can get into that as well. Search warrants have been executed at *** residence connected to the suspect, and that’s *** South County residence as well. Investigators recovered multiple firearms and digital evidence, including cell phones, which are currently undergoing forensic analysis. This remains an active and ongoing investigation with *** significant amount of evidence still being processed. So what questions do you have for me? Could you explain who was shot first and who was pulled out of the vehicle? So, the suspect went to the person of interest, went to the driver’s side first, and Mr. Uli was the driver of the of the pickup truck, and so he was shot first. Rounds, multiple rounds went into the cabin. Uh, then he walked around to, uh, the side of the female Miss Mason and shot at Miss Mason from the passenger side as well. Yes, yes, he said he pulled her out. It’s, it’s hard to tell. Either pulled her out, she was trying to get out all at the same time. Was the shooter, the weapon that you believed to have been used in the killings recovered at the scene by investigators? It was. What was that weapon? It was ***, uh, uh, some type of uh automatic, uh, long gun like ***, like an AR-15 type rifle. Similar, yes. I think the biggest question we’ve been getting from the public is when there’s *** killer still out and about, um, you know, the question lies, you know, Why did you guys feel the public, there was no threat to the public? Yes, we do not. I think the only threat if somebody is at large with this case, and we can talk about it is the with law enforcement potentially encountering law enforcement possibly, right? the the threat, this was *** this was *** situation. Of um of *** of *** crime of passion, two individuals that were apparently seeing each other for *** period of time and one husband being upset about it, um, and, and potentially um. Committing the crime that was committed, can you talk to us then? That sounds like perhaps *** motive. Can you talk to us about like what was going on in the lives of Ms. Mason and Mr. Ellis and Mr. Uli? I mean, we’re like flesh it out *** little bit about like why you think this perhaps could have happened. Yeah, so what we can share with you is, um, we, we’ve, we’ve learned *** decent amount thus far, so we are trying to put those pieces together. But certainly what appears to have taken place is that Mr. and Mrs. Ms. Mason and Mr. Ellis were in the midst of potentially separating or divorcing from what we’ve learned and maybe over the last several weeks to *** month or so. Their home was getting ready to be sold, so they were conversing amongst themselves about separating and selling the home. Mr. Ellis did obtain some professional services to help look into some things, if you will. That’s all we’re going to say at this time. So it’s it’s, it’s *** matter of um again the marriage not being broken in *** sense and then Mr. Uli apparently is married as well um and you know, essentially an affair. So Mr. Danny and Ms. Mason were romantically involved or is that that’s what you guys believe or suspect. that’s the case. Sorry, do you believe the suspect was armed when he left the scene then if he left behind that weapon or he left behind the weapon and some other evidence that we’re not going to go into. We are literally searching his vehicle right now, so I can’t share anything that was discovered yet. Do you believe he was armed? I have, I do not know. I do not know. You indicated earlier that Mr. Ellis, I believe, walked up to the vehicle on foot. I mean, did he, and he parked his, I guess, pickup truck some ways away. Do you have any idea of how he perhaps knew that they were meeting at this spot? Well, you heard me say he obtained some. Professional services he had information of some things that were taking place and and um when you talk and you guys learned I guess that his vehicle was discovered an hour or two later I guess over on the beach and this uh the boat 900 yards offshore. Can you talk about that? Yeah, and, and two, their, their vehicles came, they, they left South County. Their vehicles both were spotted via camera coming into the city or northbound, you know, at 6 in the morning and just before 7 in the morning as well, both vehicles to your, to your question as well. With the 900 yards offshore, were you saying that Mr. Ellis had swam out quite ***. Long ways in the water or. It appears that, yeah. So, the library was just circumstantial. It was just *** location. It had nothing to do with the whole, uh, uh, situation. The, the library was ***, *** location that they apparently met before, and they met again there yesterday morning, and Mister Ellis apparently was aware of that. Do you think that Mr. Ellis swam out 900 yards from where you and well I don’t know how else he would have got out 900 yards. I guess what I’m saying is, can you confirm that he went out there and his body has been found? He’s still, he’s still at large. We’re we’re he’s still *** person of interest. So we can confirm by *** citizen that says it was him that swam out there. There was Mr. Ellis that swam out, correct? OK. And where do you think he is? That’s ***, that’s *** good question, Angela, for sure, um. We hope that again this is *** little unique, but we’re sifting through *** lot of evidence right now. We’re doing follow up. We have boats and side by sides and vehicles on the beach in the ocean right now. So, um, could he have drowned? Potentially, yes, um, could he have come back out of the water? Potentially, yes. So that’s why he certainly wants, we certainly need to know where he is. And that boat that you mentioned yesterday, that was one of your crews that went out there. No, the, uh, the fire department, um, launched their, I, I think it’s *** zodiac style type of boat that you can launch from the, the beach, otherwise boats have to go up to the inlet and, and back south, right? So we called them for assistance and they launched their boat from the shore and beach area at Reammar Country Club, which is north of South Beach where the vehicle was parked. Now, while your crews are searching for the suspect, is it, is it safe to assume that he. He could still potentially be armed and to treat him as such. Well, sure, I can’t say otherwise, um, but we do have his vehicle and we do have all of the contents within it, so if he went into the water. You know, and he came back out, what does he have with him, right? That’s *** question that’s, that’s fair, but we do have his vehicle and all his equipment or stuff, if you will. Do you know how long, or, and I apologize if you’ve covered this before, uh, do you know how long, um, Miss Stacy and Mr. and Danny, I guess, had been. Kind of romantically involved. Yeah, we don’t have anything definitive, we think, you know, at least our understanding would be 3 to 3 weeks to *** month, but nothing definitive will. And why do you think they were meeting in front at the library? Like what was the purpose for that, just chit chatting or? Sure, yeah, I mean they’re, they’re meeting, um, you know, both individuals are married, right? They’re meeting to see each other and such, so. And Chief, you said you found multiple, um, weapons. Where was it at the scene in the truck? What was that, Angel? I’m sorry. You found multiple weapons. Oh, the, the, the, the, the home, so he’s *** hunter and the home had multiple firearms in the home, which again are in the home, not with him. Is that your only witness, uh, to him going into the water, the lady at Rio? That’s our only we’re, we’re working on video. Um, we’re working on some other calls that have come in, but we have to vet those, as you can imagine. So, you know, we’re trying to share with you as as best and most accurate information that we have for you. Um, so if we need to have another press conference, we will, we’ll share informa information with you as we move forward. Um, and hopefully that’s, you know, finding Mr. Ellis for sure. You mentioned Mr. Ellis had some information. Did Mr. Ellis, you guys believe, did he hire *** private investigator to follow the wife? Something of that nature, yes. So, just to be clear, both victims arrive in different cars. The female gets out of her car and goes into the other victim’s car, correct? OK. Can you say what was found in the suspect’s vehicle? We are searching the vehicle as we speak. And what kind of, I believe that’s *** 2022 gray or dark gray Ford F-150. The suspect vehicle will, right? Is that what you’re asking? Yes, Mr. Ellis’ Yeah, it’s an F-1. 50 pickup truck. OK. And that’s also Mr. Uli’s vehicle too. No, he’s got *** Ford Ranger. Oh, OK. Ford Ranger F-150. So you say your, your crews are searching that Ford F-150 as we speak right now. Absolutely. Yesterday at the scene we saw that *** lot of, *** lot of the windows were broken in and some of the belongings of that vehicle seemingly were on the ground. Did you also search that vehicle at all? What we did in concert with the sheriff’s department, we wanted to be safe and approached the vehicle. We didn’t know if he was in it and if he was, in what capacity, right? And you have tinted windows. I believe the shade was up on the windshield, so we tactically approached and took out the back window with *** drone or other means, tried to with *** drone. And so we’re trying to see in the vehicle and at *** distance, right, at *** safe distance, so of course he was not in there and so there’s *** lot of stuff in there that we’re searching through right now. We had to get *** search warrant for both vehicles on the scene at the library, *** search warrant for the vehicle at South Beach, and *** search warrant for *** home, and that’s all in literally less than 24 hours. So please understand that um we are we are working on the search warrants. We’re doing our searches and our inventories. Now you were part of *** large law enforcement presence yesterday near that vehicle and around the surrounding beaches. Did that search with canines and drones and helicopters, did that search yield any helpful information to this investigation? Not, not yesterday’s search. We utilized canines. There’s that. *** wooded patch of area that’s just north of South Beach. We flooded that with canines and officers on *** perimeter, and, uh, we had people on our side by sides up and down the beaches. I River Shores is assisting us with that. Uh, we were out this morning. Officers of the Vero Beach Police Department side by side up and down the beaches, I River shores coming from the north, we had the fire department, I’m sorry, the sheriff’s department and India River shores out in the ocean yesterday, FWC, Coast Guard, we’ve had multiple agencies respond and assist and those crews. the water this morning at about 7 it was us in the shores along the beach and I believe it was the shores and the sheriff’s department with their boat in the ocean along with some drone activity. Do you believe that the suspect is still in Vero Beach or near the area, or do you think that? Yes, I, I, I, I believe he is, um, but one doesn’t know if, if he’s that large, can he find *** way to have some type of transportation? Absolutely, right? I mean, we have his truck, you know, he’s probably not going home. If he does, we’ll find him there, right? So. Um, what does one do, right? They, if they, if they are wanting to go, I mean, if he wanted to go, he could have went right away as well, so maybe he had *** change of plans, um, as far as that goes, but we’re, we’re actively searching for him. Surveillance video of him actually entering the water. I know it was at the beach, but is there any video? We are, we are trying to uncover that, um, depending where we’ve got some, uh, as you can imagine, just to the north of South Beach are private residential homes that we’re following up with, and then south of there is condominiums. So who has them and what would they yield? We’re we’re looking at that. We don’t have anything currently. We just have the statement of the lady that called us and saying that afterward describing him, I believe showing her *** picture that she felt it was him. You talked about some of the search warrants that you were executing yesterday and today. Are there any other ones you’re executing today other than the F-150 that that are new since the last? Uh, probably the only thing that may be new, and, and as you can imagine some of the digital activity that we make, you know, if there’s, if there are phone, if we’re undercover phone, right, search warrant. You know, so as we move forward, search warrants may, uh, you know, prompt themselves. Have you talked to Mr. Uli? Oh, well, you moved from the middle. Have you, um, talked to Mr. Uli’s wife to get, see what she says or her, you know, thoughts, or was she aware of this, or could she, so any information so. You know, make sure, and I think you all know we’re here for the victims. We’re here for the victims. We’re here for the families and friends. So our initial part of the investigation is, OK, all hands on deck, but we need to notify the next of kin because if we don’t notify them as soon as we can, guess what? Social media is going to let them know, right? Unfortunately, so we notified. Uh, his wife, to your question, um, we will follow up with the next of kin as far as information, and we’re doing that as well. Um, we spoke to her parents in Vermont again this morning, um, see if anyone could shed light. But we’re we’re doing the follow up, but the initial key and important component was to make sure the family knew before anyone else. That’s, that’s most important to us. Did anyone, does anyone in the room know the victims or can talk about them as employees briefly? Does anyone in the room right now? Yeah, yeah, we have, um, we have um county manager John Chikanich. We have *** commissioner and I believe chair. Uh, and former sheriff Darryl Lohr here. So, um, uh, if you’re finished with me or if you want to talk to them now and you may have something else with me, one more, just one more, Angela, um, there are *** lot of people at that beach yesterday, um, residents, um, concerned about what’s going on. What’s the message you have for the community today, um, you’ve been. Yeah, so, so initially and out of the, out of the gate again, this is, you know, *** crime of passion type incident, you know, ***, *** marital issue where, you know, it’s, it’s very sad and terrible what took place for sure, um, but that’s why we said we don’t think there’s *** threat to the community. If you will, because this was ***, uh, you know, *** thought out, you know, we believe at least whether it was thought out for *** day or two days or what have you, we think it was, you know, something that, you know, obviously was just *** target of, of his wife and, and, and Mr. Oli. So we don’t think he’s wanting to, if he’s at large, wanting to hurt anyone else. We don’t think that’s the case when you have something like this with *** marital issue. It’s not like, you know, somebody was *** crime spree somewhere and they’re at large and it’s unknown, right? Is it 100% that way, Angela, right? We can never say that, right? And that’s why I think that if anything it would be more with law enforcement encounter him where you know if he is armed, where he’s in that desperate mode, right, but we don’t think he’s wanting to harm anyone else. We don’t believe that this was *** targeted marital issue that went terribly, terribly wrong. What was he wearing when he went into the ocean? He had *** pair of shorts, long tight shorts and *** shirt. Like ***, like *** dry fit dark navy blue type shirt, um, which he had, um, didn’t, I, I, he wore part of that at the scene and then he did some clothing. We, we did, you know, recover some clothing articles as well. Do you guys plan on releasing *** photo just so that we have an image that we can put out? What type of photo? Like of what this man might look like or what he was wearing in that moment. Yeah, yeah, yeah, that’s right, that’s, that’s him right there, um, as far as, you know, the video and, and things like that, you won’t necessarily be able to say that’s him, right, and some other things, but, uh, we, we are literally sifting through *** lot right now. We really are. There’s *** lot going on. Um, and we want to be accurate when we share information. Roughly how many shots were fired by the Multiple, multiple 1, 2030, multiple. What type of weapon was it? It was *** long gun, apparently an AR. Style firearm. And do you know how long the search is expected to last to search for the husband? Until we find him. Yeah. And are officers remaining at his home? Are they at his home right now? I don’t know that we have anybody there right now, um. It’s apparently being sold soon or was going to be sold soon, so, but we’ll, we’ll keep tabs of that for sure. So, pardon me just *** minute later too, you’re saying he went to South Beach to literally swim out to shore to get on his boat, is that? Yeah, is that the way I understand he didn’t have *** boat. OK, so why into the ocean the way he did? Bring me up to speed on that. Um, well, uh, you know, whatever took place at the, uh, the library, right? You know, if, if this is him and he killed two people, including his wife. He drives to South Beach and he goes out into the ocean. What’s his intent? Is it to, to drown himself, or, uh, you know, so, um, but you were saying *** boat was 900 yards offshore and he was trying to swim. I’m, I’m no, he swam about 900 yards offshore and the fire department boat went out to him. Thank you. Yes, sorry, I missed that. Yes, that’s OK. That’s OK. So that’s what you can think about as far as somebody that committed *** crime like that that enters the ocean with certain intent. They weren’t able to apprehend him going out from our understanding, they vet him, spoke to him, and determined that he was in. Safe scenario. So they didn’t know who he was at the time. He gave them *** name, but it wasn’t that name. So fire rescue spoke to this guy 900 yards offshore in the water and he just sort of to our knowledge, yes, yes, that’s, that’s what we’re, that’s the information that we’re receiving. Is there *** video. From that vessel, uh, from the fire department? Not to my knowledge. OK. Yes. Out of curiosity, was he fully clothed, shoes on and everything? Like, is there anything that leads to believe he would have wanted to get out of the water? OK. Well, the, the, the, the lady that called us said he was fully clothed. So, um, again, we, we, we believe he was in *** dark type shirt and some at least like *** three quarter length pair of shorts at least. Now, did he take his shoes off? We haven’t recovered shoes. Did he have shoes on? I’m not real sure of that. How, how certain are you that the fire department actually talked to him? They told us they. Told us they did we we talked to the to the fire employees involved and um we also have *** call for service type report that that the dispatchers’ note information that’s gleaned if you will. So is that based on his description because he gave *** false name or or what what he was wearing? They, I, I, I, yeah, well, he’s, he’s in the water, right, so he gives *** different name, you know, they deem him safe or OK, um, and I believe later on they, they thought by it. Picture or photo that it may have been the same guy. That it may have been the same guy they could make no 100% confirmation. I don’t know that it’s 100% or not. Is there *** possibility he parked his truck and took some other vehicle and left the park? Uh, there’s *** possibility of that. Sure, sure. Did he have multiple vehicles under his name? I do not believe so. She had the, the VW and he had the pickup truck. He hadn’t rented *** car or anything that you know. We’re, we’re following up that and not to our knowledge at this point. residents if they encounter to call 911 for sure to call us or whatever jurisdiction he may be in if you will, if he’s at large, but to call us and we’ll respond immediately. This is an unfortunate case of some crime of passion in *** sense it seems right. Very unfortunate and isolated in that sense, as unfortunate as it is isolated in that sense, we believe. So again, if he’s at large, we certainly hope to find him. We feel we will in some way, shape or form, but we don’t think he’s necessarily *** threat to the community because of the isolated scenario that we’re talking about this morning. Was he fully clothed when the fire department? I believe the best they could tell being submerged. So clothing. Yes, yes. Chief, outside of you and the sheriff’s department, uh, your department, who else is actively searching for him in in the region? Right, right now I do know that it’s us, the sheriff’s department, I River Shores Public Safety. Yesterday I know FWC, the Coast Guard, the fire department assisted, um, and I think the sheriff’s department again I mentioned them as well, but no other I guess counties are involved, yeah, if we need resources we ask and we get um that’s how we operate, but, but our resources right now are. Um, we have enough of what we need within our county. Which ways? I’m sorry, which way are the currents running? That’s *** good question, Greg. I, you know, I, we were just talking *** little bit about that. It’s, it’s, we’ve had cases where people have gone in, you know, and, and come right back to the same spot. We’ve had to go in and be in south or north. I, I don’t know specifically, but we’ll we’ll have all that. Um, I asked the same thing. Did fire rescue offer him *** ride back to shore? Uh, I, I believe so. I believe so. I don’t think he was interested. And they didn’t, they didn’t find him distraught or anything. I mean, uh, emotionally, he was in the water. He had, if it, if it was him, he had just committed. It, it, it, it seemed that he didn’t want anything to do with him. I mean, he’s like *** half mile out, man. That’s kind of unusual for *** swimmer. I mean. I, I don’t disagree with you, Will. OK. Is he out, but I guess that’s out beyond sort of the flat center out there? Yeah, I, I’m, I’m not sure, you know, again, I, I don’t know, but that’s, it seems to be *** decent way out. I, I don’t know the layout, if you will, necessarily. That location. Yeah, that was our initial understanding about *** 0.5 mile and then it was 900 yards, so it was that, you know. And the time and fit between the um shooting at the library, him at the beach and the fire department seeing someone in. Yeah, yeah, so 7:00, 7:01, we got the call, uh, yesterday morning to the library, um, you know, you can see the individual leaving the scene and, and running somewhat north in that dirt alleyway that, that’s right by there, so his vehicle must have been by 23rd Street or somewhere over that way, right? Um, most likely drives to the beach, uh, via maybe rural Palm Boulevard and then takes one of the bridges over, um. And our, our female caller says at about 7:30 she sees him go in fully clothed, in her words, uh, in the ocean, and then we, um, we get the call and then at about I think they entered the water about 8:30, the fire department and made contact. Does the suspect have any known medical conditions that may have precluded him from swimming out that far? Well, if he did, it didn’t work, so um I I don’t know. I don’t know. He’s about 6’4, north of 200 pounds, 64 or 5, yeah, yeah, I don’t know that he was *** regular swimmer by any means. Come on, Will, I see you churning. I wanted to know how many shots, but Multiple. Again, we’re gonna meet again potentially. Be patient. The recovered, uh, did Ellis legally own that firearm? We do not have any documentation in his name. That’s not unusual, especially in the state of Florida, you know, he had multiple firearms in his home, um, so. Yeah, we, that’s the one he used. It’s not, I don’t believe it’s stolen or anything like that. Again, he apparently had quite *** bit. Apparently he was *** hunter, did *** lot of hunting, um, was *** gun enthusiast, maybe that’s probably the best word, based on the number of firearms in the house. That he doesn’t have with him now? Does he have *** gun with him now? We, we don’t know. I mean, someone swimming that far out seems that they would be in danger. Do you think in the future we should be leaving people out, I guess, that far out without supervision in that kind of situation? Yeah, so that, that’s *** good question, and I think, you know, maybe all of you have that, and you know, um, you know, I wasn’t there, we weren’t there, but, uh, from *** prudent standpoint that you know somebody out that far, uh, enclosed maybe isn’t as normal as, you know, *** normal type incident, so, um, you know, it’s, it’s one thing they don’t want anything to do with you, but do you, you know, do you keep an eye on them, you know, uh standby or if you will, right? Chief, did the AR-15 style long gun have *** traditional magazine on it or the one that carried the extra? I think it was traditional. Yeah, I think it was traditional. *** decent, *** decent capacity, but *** traditional standard, yeah. Yeah, I don’t think it was anything. The Mason house is at its 16th Place Southwest. I believe so, yeah. That’s Dixie Heights area, I believe, Dixie Heights. Do you have the brand of that weapon? I don’t. I don’t. Uh, chief, sorry if you covered this already, but the, um, the suspect, did he also work for the county or what, what did he do? He worked for *** local, uh, electrician, I believe. Yeah, yeah, but he was not *** county. He was not. He was not. His wife and, uh, Mr. Uley worked for the Indian River County, uh, Public works. And *** follow up on the other one I asked, given this situation, do you guys have plan on like having *** conversation with the fire department about just that supervision kind of situation and especially given that you’ve so far. So, uh, do you guys plan on now having *** conversation with the fire department about the dangers of just kind of leaving someone so far out and unsupervised given the. Yeah, so we talked to them, you know, we, we, they obviously responded and we got the call for service in that regard. We talked to them yesterday, um, evening dinner time hour if you will, um. You know, we don’t know their protocol, um, but policies are just that or protocol is just that, you know, um, they’re guidance, right? So you know we haven’t talked to them about that, um, certainly that may lead to some conversation, right? Is that *** thumbs up done or you have another question? Well, I’m good. OK, you’re good. Thank you. Everybody good. Would you like to talk to the county? I have one more question. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. The families other than their spouses, who else they have kids, um. That, that’s something that again we’re kind of sifting through we believe they were, they were married prior, um, some I don’t know the actual breakdown right now, but there are kids, there are kids, um, that, that they’ve had some of them may have their kids, most of them are adult we know, um. I think it’s Miss Mason that has *** parents are out of state, brother’s out of state, um, I believe Mr. Uli and his wife have some older kids, you know, young adults, um, in that regard. All right, any questions for, uh, yeah, you’re welcome. I’ll stand over here just in case you, you have something else. Well, you never know with Will Greenly. Well, no, I don’t. I get those late night texts. Well, good morning, everyone. My name is Darryl Lohr. I am currently the chairman of the Indian River County Commission. With me today is our county administrator, Mr. John Titanich. Uh, on behalf of Indian River County, first and foremost, our thoughts and prayers go out to not only the county, uh, but specifically our over 900. Associate coworkers with Danny and Stacy, our goal is to comfort them, offer them any type of counseling that may be needed whatsoever, and at this time as we pivot into consoling our agency and knowing and recognizing that in fact our agency is *** family this morning we had ***. Prayer service led by Mr. Titanic and we talked about oftentimes making next of kin in law enforcement and fire arena is *** difficult job. It’s as difficult when we make notification of next of kin to our work family members. Both Danny and Stacy we know were dedicated loyal employees to the agency. We had *** time for reflection this morning and many stories of dedication and loyalty to the agency, and for that we posthumously thank them for that. Furthermore, we’d like to thank not only the Vero Beach Police Department, specifically the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office, Indian River Shores Public. Safety as well as Coast Guard and any state agencies that were involved, as we mentioned earlier our vigil this morning with hundreds of employees, this is *** resilient community. We will get through this. The chief was very articulate in some of the things that he discussed. It’s an situation, but Indian River County and Vero Beach specifically is *** strong community, and our pledge to our employees is that we will be here to help them every single step of the way. And with the leadership of Mr. Titanic, there’s not *** doubt in my mind that we will eventually get over this. Yeah, like, like the chair said, right now, I mean, we are grieving. Our organization is grieving. There’s many employees, you know, we have roughly 1100 employees. I can tell you that, uh, I’ve made touch points with almost every employee in the administration building, the road and bridge, traffic. And I’ll be continuing to do that throughout the day to make sure that they can access the resources and that we can lean on one another and be there for one another. Uh, I, I, it’s, it’s *** horrible tragedy. Danny, uh, you know, rose from the ranks, you know, as *** maintenance worker to assistant public works director. Uh, worked almost 25 years with the, the county. Uh, and then you have Stacy who spent 14 years. She was *** traffic analyst, uh, well liked, brought smiles to people’s face, very positive, and it’s just, uh, our, our organization is hurting, you know, we have *** lot of employees that are just in need, and so we want to make sure that we are there for them, and we certainly ask for the public’s, you know, patience and understanding because we have, I’ve, I’ve given the authority for any department director, for any employee that is struggling. To that they could go home and they could take their personal time and go home because, uh, it’s, we’ve got some people run bridge, they’re they’re they’re using heavy equipment, you know, we, they need to be safe and the public needs to be safe. We’ve got people even if they’re just dealing with customers or, or they’re processing, reviewing plans, and so we, we, we are, our focus as administration when, with the chair and the board. They were all there yesterday when we provided the notification with, and we thank the chief for showing up as well, uh, to our public works team, and then we’ve gone out and we’ve since reached out to the others and we just want to, uh, you know, our hearts are pray our hearts and our thoughts and prayers are with the, the families. Uh, we, we’ve spoken with, you know, Miss Oli, and as well as some other, his brother, and, uh, and we certainly will be there to support them. Because it is *** family and uh and the family’s hurting right now and we just wanna make sure that we can, nobody gets slips through the crack because sometimes these events can can trigger other memories from other events. So we’re just trying to be there as *** resource to our employees. Any questions, folks? All right, I’ll, I’ll just add that. Indian River County, Vero Beach is still healing from the tragic loss of Deputy Sweeney in November, *** mere 5 months ago, 2 additional county employees, and we have seen how our community can heal, very close knit community. And as Mr. Administrator mentioned, it certainly is *** setback for our agency, and we are hurting, and we ask for the public’s patience and guidance and prayers, most of all to get through this trying time. So thank you. Thank you. Anything else? Any follow up questions. All right, thank you all. Good to see everybody. One quick question, Chief, yes, for you, um, in regards, you said he was *** hunter, *** suspect seemed to be *** lot of firearms. Have you accounted for his whole inventory based on gun registrations? We are, we, we nearly, we literally just did that search warrant last night, so we have to do some type of inventory and account for everything. Um, anytime you kind of take custody of something or if you will, not that we’re taking custody.
Community in shock after two employees killed at Indian River County library
Updated: 12:06 PM EDT Mar 25, 2026
Authorities with the Vero Beach Police Department gave an update after two Indian River County employees were killed in the parking lot of the main library in Vero Beach. The county identified the victims as Danny Ooley, assistant director of Public Works, and Stacie Mason, a traffic analyst technician.”The reality of this loss is profound, and there are no words that can fully capture its weight. Danny and Stacie were not just employees, but colleagues and dedicated public servants who supported this community every day,” Chairman Deryl Loar and County Administrator John A. Titkanich Jr. said in a statement. “Their absence is deeply felt across our organization and the community they served.”Hours after the victims’ bodies were discovered, police located the suspected shooter’s truck at South Beach. They believe it is connected to this double homicide. The suspect has been identified as 64-year-old Jesse Scott Ellis, Mason’s husband of 13 years. They were separated and conversing about selling their home. “We do have his vehicle and all of the context that’s in it,” police said during the news conference. Authorities said Ellis obtained “professional services” and was aware of things that took place when asked how he knew the victims were at the library. Ellis left behind the weapon, an AR-style firearm, and police are actively searching his vehicle. No arrests have been made, and Ellis is considered “at large.”This is a developing story and will be updated as information becomes available.Community members have been in shock after learning of Tuesday’s double homicide. Area residents who frequent this beach say that kind of heavy police presence is rare in the Vero Beach community, and the double homicide continues to send shock waves through the area. Stay up to date: The latest headlines and weather from WPBF 25Get the latest news updates with the WPBF 25 News app. You can download it here.
VERO BEACH, Fla. —
Authorities with the Vero Beach Police Department gave an update after two Indian River County employees were killed in the parking lot of the main library in Vero Beach.
The county identified the victims as Danny Ooley, assistant director of Public Works, and Stacie Mason, a traffic analyst technician.
“The reality of this loss is profound, and there are no words that can fully capture its weight. Danny and Stacie were not just employees, but colleagues and dedicated public servants who supported this community every day,” Chairman Deryl Loar and County Administrator John A. Titkanich Jr. said in a statement. “Their absence is deeply felt across our organization and the community they served.”
Hours after the victims’ bodies were discovered, police located the suspected shooter’s truck at South Beach. They believe it is connected to this double homicide.
The suspect has been identified as 64-year-old Jesse Scott Ellis, Mason’s husband of 13 years. They were separated and conversing about selling their home.
“We do have his vehicle and all of the context that’s in it,” police said during the news conference.
Authorities said Ellis obtained “professional services” and was aware of things that took place when asked how he knew the victims were at the library.
Ellis left behind the weapon, an AR-style firearm, and police are actively searching his vehicle.
No arrests have been made, and Ellis is considered “at large.”
This is a developing story and will be updated as information becomes available.
Community members have been in shock after learning of Tuesday’s double homicide.
Area residents who frequent this beach say that kind of heavy police presence is rare in the Vero Beach community, and the double homicide continues to send shock waves through the area.
Stay up to date: The latest headlines and weather from WPBF 25
Get the latest news updates with the WPBF 25 News app. You can download it here.