Shooter at Florida zombie festival gets 30 years in prison


2 photos
Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — The man who shot several people, killing one, at a zombie-themed festival in Florida more than four years ago was sentenced on Monday to 30 years in prison.

Jose Raul Bonilla, 24, was sentenced after pleading no contest to second-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and possession of a firearm by a delinquent as part of a deal with Lee County prosecutors.

Zombicon was one of the most popular celebrations in southwest Florida, attracting about 20,000 people in October 2015. Investigators said the event was winding down when Bonilla began shooting into the downtown Fort Myers crowd.

Expavious Tyrell Taylor, 20, died at the scene, while David Perez, Tyree Hunter, Isaiah Knight, Kyle Roberts and John Parsons were wounded.

The city paid $40,000 to settle a lawsuit with Taylor's estate. Roberts and Tyree received $7,499 each from the city.

The FBI began helping Fort Myers police shortly after the deadly event. No motive was ever reported, but Bonilla's arrest followed interviews with hundreds of witnesses, as well as reviewing surveillance video and collecting tips through the region's Crime Stoppers program.

The city cut ties with Zombicon organizers shortly after the shooting, ending the event's nine-year run.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Photos

Most recent U.S. stories

Related topics

U.S.
The Associated Press

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast