Island businesswoman shot; police wound suspect
Islander news report
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| Sue Normand |
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| Island Mail & More, in Holmes Beach |
Island businesswoman Sue Normand was in serious condition Wednesday afternoon after being shot at her business, Island Mail & More, in Holmes Beach.
The suspect in the incident also was in serious condition after being shot by police officers on the beach in Bradenton Beach.
Authorities on Wednesday were still working on the details of the incident, but according to the first reports, Mark Koenigs, 54, of Bradenton Beach, walked into Island Mail & More in the shopping center in the 300 block of East Bay Drive, Holmes Beach, with a box under his arm.
Koenigs, according to Holmes Beach Police Chief Jay Romine, placed the box on the counter and began talking with Normand.
Another customer, according to Romine, stood by.
Koenigs removed a 9-mm handgun from the box and fired the weapon at Normand, who was flown to Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg.
Normand, in addition to running Island Mail & More, is a 12-year veteran of Holmes Beach’s planning commission. She currently serves as chair.
After the shooting at in the shopping center, the suspect left, traveling south on foot. Some witnesses reported hearing gunshots in the neighborhood.
A customer in the store called 911 and police immediately began a search for a man wearing a blue hooded sweatshirt.
A pilot in a helicopter observed the suspect on the beach in the 2700 block of Gulf Drive North. Holmes Beach and Bradenton Beach police began searching the area, as did Manatee County Sheriff’s Offices deputies.
Police set up a perimeter on the beach and confronted the suspect on the sand, near the water, in the 300 block of Gulf Drive in Bradenton Beach at about 11 a.m.
Manatee County Sheriff Brad Stuebesaid the suspect was ordered to remove his hands from his pockets. When he eventually did, he held the gun. Initially the weapon was pointed toward the ground. But Stuebe said the suspect raised the gun and law enforcement fired.
Authorities declined to immediately release the name or names of the officers involved.
Koenigs was wounded in the ankle, leg and groin, according to Romine. Koenigs was also taken by a medical helicopter to Bayfront.
In the hours after the shootings, investigators worked at two shooting scenes — at Island Mail & More and on the beach. Crime scene technicians collected items from the scene, took photographs and videotapes. |
