Fort Myers police arrested a man Monday for the Zombicon shooting of 2015 that left one person dead and five injured.
At the October 2015 Zombicon event in downtown Fort Myers, attendees were dressed in masks and smeared with fake blood. When shots were fired close to midnight, people scattered and made it difficult for police to know who was responsible.
But now, about two years later, law enforcement officials believe they have the man who killed one person and wounded five others.
Fort Myers Police Department spokesman Capt. Jay Rodriguez said twenty-three year old Jose Raul Bonilla was apprehended by the FBI and Fort Myers Police Department detectives Monday morning.
"Investigators spent hundreds of hours reviewing surveillance video footage and still images from the night of the tragic events as well as interviewing dozens of witnesses," Rodriguez said. "This investigation is not over with today's arrest."
Also credited were the Collier Sheriff’s Office, Crimestoppers and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Bonilla is being charged with one count of second-degree murder with a firearm, five counts of aggravated battery with a firearm and one count of tampering with evidence.
Chief Assistant State Attorney Amira Fox, who will be prosecuting Bonilla, said the second degree murder with a firearm charge is a life felony. She emphasized the importance witnesses had in the arrest.
"I can't overstate how many thousands of hours were spent combing through tips combing through Crimestoppers tips, anonymous tips and numerous amounts of witnesses," Fox said. "And it could not have been done without this team [of law enforcement]."
No questions were taken, since law enforcement said this is an ongoing investigation. But if you have any more information on the case, contact the police. Detectives think Bonilla may have told people in the Immokalee area what he did.
FMPD spokesman Rodriguez said this is one step closer to getting justice for those who were traumatized, wounded and killed at Zombicon more than two years ago.
