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Woman killed, suspect injured in shooting at Brooksville BioSpine clinic, deputies say

Patients and employees were evacuated. “People were just getting out of there and getting to whatever safe place they could,” a sheriff’s spokeswoman said.
 
Hernando County deputies responded to a shooting Monday morning at the BioSpine Institute, 7101 Mariner Boulevard in Brooksville.
Hernando County deputies responded to a shooting Monday morning at the BioSpine Institute, 7101 Mariner Boulevard in Brooksville. [ Hernando County Sheriff's Office ]
Published July 26, 2021|Updated July 26, 2021

BROOKSVILLE — A woman shot multiple times Monday morning during a visit to a Brooksville medical clinic has died from her injuries, the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office said, while the man suspected of shooting her remains in “stable condition” at a nearby hospital.

The Sheriff’s Office identified the man Monday evening as 72-year-old Stanley Johns who, though being treated for a single gunshot wound, has been placed under arrest on a first-degree felony murder charge with no possibility of bail.

Just before 10:30 a.m., the Sheriff’s Office was flooded with 911 calls about an “active shooter” inside the BioSpine Institute, located at 7101 Mariner Boulevard near Landover Boulevard in the Spring Hill area, sheriff’s spokeswoman Denise Moloney said.

Within three minutes, some 30 deputies had surrounded the clinic and began searching the building room by room as first responders with Hernando County Fire and Emergency Services evacuated those inside and assessed injuries, Moloney said.

“Some people sheltered in place, some people were just running out. Some people ran to a church next door or another doctor’s office nearby,” Moloney said. “People were just getting out of there and getting to whatever safe place they could.”

Deputies methodically searched the building, room by room, and eventually discovered Johns hiding in an examination room near a back office with his female victim, the Sheriff’s Office said.

The woman, who has not been named due to the agency’s interpretation of Marsy’s Law, was suffering from multiple gunshot wounds and was immediately air lifted to a nearby trauma center. Johns also suffered a single gunshot wound, Moloney said, but he wasn’t shot by a responding deputy. It was unclear Monday how he was injured in the melee.

Johns was placed under arrest by 10:36 a.m. and then taken to a nearby hospital by ambulance. He was listed in “stable condition” by Monday evening and will receive medical care under sheriff’s guard.

At 12:53 p.m., while in surgery, Johns’ female victim succumbed to her injuries, the Sheriff’s Office said.

Investigators said Johns is related to his female victim, and accompanied her to an appointment she had set for today at the BioSpine Institute at his own request.

“Due to issues that can be described as domestic in nature, the suspect confessed to both planning and carrying out the act of killing the victim,” the Sheriff’s Office said in a written statement.

Investigators believe there were about 14 other people inside the BioSpine Institute when Johns began shooting at the woman, which includes patients, doctors, nurses, and office staff. One of those present was a child who was waiting with a parent, the Sheriff’s Office said. None were injured during the incident.

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Investigators are still processing the scene and interviewing witnesses, Moloney said.

After the shooting, the BioSpine Institute issued a statement saying its Spring Hill clinic will be closed for an “unspecified time” to allow for the Sheriff’s investigation into the incident.

“We are currently working with law enforcement to determine exactly what happened,” the statement said.

“The safety of staff and patients is of the utmost importance to BioSpine and we are relieved that this appears to be an isolated incident.”