“Suicide is always preventable. If you are having thoughts of suicide or feeling suicidal, please call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline immediately at 800-273-8255. Counselors are also available to chat at www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org. Remember: You deserve to be supported, and it is never too late to seek help. Speak with someone today.”
Jeff Weiner
Orlando Sentinel
TITUSVILLE, Fla. — A Seminole County firefighter shot and killed a 24-year-old woman before taking his own life outside a home in Titusville on Thursday morning, according to police.
In an unsigned statement, the Titusville Police Department identified the slain woman as Haley Friedel.
The firefighter, 32-year-old Gregory DePietro, had worked at the Seminole County Fire Department since October 2018, “was in good standing” and served on a specialized team focused on hazardous materials and “technical rescue,” SCFD Chief Matt Kinley said in a statement.
“This is a tragic and devastating loss for the family of Haley Friedel and the family of Greg DePietro,” Kinley said, declining to comment on the investigation. “All the men and women in our Fire Department mourn the losses of these two individuals during this difficult time.”
Titusville officers were called to Friedel’s home on Lakeview Hills Avenue about 7 a.m. Thursday, TPD said, arriving to find Friedel inside a vehicle in the driveway.
DePietro was on the home’s lawn, also wounded, police said. He was taken to an area hospital and pronounced dead at about 10:15 a.m.
The Titusville Police Department statement did not reveal any motive for the apparent murder-suicide, or the precise nature of DePietro and Friedel’s relationship, other than they “were known to each other.”
The case remains under investigation.
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline takes calls 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Call 1-800-273-8255 if you need help.
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