Fishing-trip massacre
3 pals beaten & shot in Fla. lakeside attack
Three best friends were found murdered in a “horrific scene” at a Florida lake — and one of them had phoned his father for help as he lay dying, authorities say.
The victims — Damion Tillman,
23, Keven Spring- field, 30, and Brandon Rollins,
27 — were set to go night fishing Friday in Lake Streety in Frostproof, about 70 miles south of Orlando, when they were “mas- sacred,” according to Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd.
He said investigators believe that Tillman arrived at the lake first to prepare for the men’s expedition to get catfish.
By the time Rollins and Springfield arrived, Tillman was being beaten, and all three men were soon assaulted and shot, according to authorities.
Still conscious when the assailants left, Rollins called his father at around 10:06 p.m., begging, “Help,” according to officials.
The father knew where his son had been headed and rushed to the lake about 10 minutes away.
“When I got there, I was looking for my son. It was a mess,” Cyril Rollins told Tampa’s NBC affiliate.
“I was holding him. He was telling me what happened, but I was too shocked to know what was going on.”
The dad said he couldn’t phone for help because he forgot to bring his cellphone in his hurry to get to his boy, so he drove to a nearby convenience store, where the clerk called 911.
Judd said there was more than one attacker and authorities don’t believe the slayings were random.
“You don’t just stumble upon somebody out here,” Judd said.
“This is a dirt road, a clay dirt road, way out in the middle of what we call God’s country, on the way to a nice little fishing lake. It’s not like there’s a lot of people around here.”