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Sheriff: 3rd person dies in Polk County triple murder

An upset employee is accused of killing three people and injuring two others with a baseball bat and knife.

DAVENPORT, Fla. — "The horrible murderer is in custody and the community is once again safe," Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said after a deadly morning in Davenport, Florida.

A Pennsylvania man was arrested Saturday afternoon after the authorities say he attacked seven people inside of a home in Polk County.

Shaun Runyon, 39, was working for a Pennsylvania-based electric company, J & B Electric, Inc., that was performing subcontract work with Publix Supermarket this week.

At around 2 a.m. Friday, Runyon was involved in a dispute with his supervisor. Judd said Runyon punched his supervisor and fled from the workplace. He had not been seen after the incident occurred.

Runyon and his other team members on the electrical job had been temporarily living in the Davenport, Florida community near Aloha Boulevard and Kona Lane.

A man renting a house in that same community, Windsor Island Resort, said he went for a walk around 9 in the morning and believes he ran into Runyon. “The craziest thing that happened this morning, I went for a walk this morning. This guy passed me as I’m walking, on my right side, he said, ‘how you doing?'" 

The man who didn't want to reveal his identity explained, he thought nothing of the encounter until he noticed the man he passed had a bat in his hand. “He had a bat, but at first, I thought it was one of those things construction people use to measure the ground," the man explained.

It wasn't until he talked with law enforcement that he realized, that man was Runyon. “Then police in this area told me they were looking for this individual with a bat in his hand and that he committed a crime."

At 9:44 Saturday morning, the Polk County Sheriff's Office received a 911 call about a murder, "that [Runyon] has murdered someone," Judd said. 

It was revealed through an investigation that Runyon returned to the neighborhood where he was staying and entered the house with a baseball bat and a knife.

"He stabbed and beat people inside the residence," Judd said during the Sheriff's Office news conference.

There were seven people living inside the multi-bedroom house and were all present when the fight happened, Judd said.

One person was beaten to death in his bed where he slept, authorities say. Another person was found dead on the front porch of the home. 

The third person who was badly wounded during the attack died at a Lake Wales hospital Saturday evening. During the afternoon news conference, Judd said he was not expected to survive as a result of his "horrible wounds."

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Judd said Runyon chased a fourth person from the house into the street and hit him in the back and shoulder with a baseball bat.

Another man, his wife and their 7-year-old daughter were able to escape from the residence without harm.

Runyon then fled the scene, starting an "intense" manhunt, according to Judd. There were dozens of deputies involved, including the sheriff's office K-9 Unit and drone teams. In the beginning, the sheriff's office was able to track Runyon down from a blood trail he left behind when he left the area. However, the trail went dead and deputies were unable to find him.

At 11:37 a.m., Runyon showed up at a house in Lake Wales covered in blood and told a couple he was sexually assaulted, the sheriff explained. The couple told him he needed to go to the hospital.

Polk County deputies and Davenport police were able to arrest him while he was at Lake Wales Hospital. And further explained that Runyon is not injured, according to the information gathered.

Judd says that Runyon confessed to the detectives, and he personally knew all of the people who were in the house. 

In the past, records show Runyon has faced criminal charges out of state including endangering the welfare of children, strangulation, DUI and simple assault.

Runyon is charged with three counts of first-degree murder and one count of aggravated battery.

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