Former Fort Lauderdale Employee Carries Out Latter Half of Murder/Suicide in Front of Cops | The Daily Pulp | South Florida | Broward Palm Beach New Times | The Leading Independent News Source in Broward-Palm Beach, Florida

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Former Fort Lauderdale Employee Carries Out Latter Half of Murder/Suicide in Front of Cops

UPDATE: The man killed by Schlanger was Craig Legget. Police say the altercation stemmed from "a prior civil matter regarding the destruction of Leggett's personal property by Schlanger's son."

Fort Lauderdale police say a former city employee shot and killed a man in the lobby of a condo building yesterday, then shot himself in front of cops as they approached the building.

According to Fort Lauderdale Police Detective Travis Mandell, 73-year-old Gene Schlanger shot and killed a 36-year-old man in the lobby of Schlanger's condo building -- the Runaway Bay condominiums on the 1600 block of SE Tenth Avenue -- shortly before 10:30 a.m. yesterday.

Someone phoned up the cops, and as officers watched through the glass-enclosed lobby as they approached the building, Schlanger shot himself, Mandell says.

The identity of the 36-year-old man has not yet been released, and Mandell says the relationship between the two is "still under investigation," although the cops believe the two did know each other.

According to city documents, Schlanger was the economic development manager for Fort Lauderdale's Real Estate Division until sometime last year.

The 36-year-old man, who was found slumped over in a chair in the lobby, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Schlanger was pronounced dead after being taken to Broward General Medical Center.

We'll provide updates if they come along.


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Matthew Hendley
Contact: Matthew Hendley

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