Man who called Parkland school shooting suspect a ‘hero’ fires at passing cars before shooting himself
In handwritten documents, Rex Whitmire Harbour, 26, said alleged Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz gave him ‘courage and confidence’
Before he settled into brush with a pistol and took aim at passing cars on a Georgia highway, Rex Whitmire Harbour wrote about his admiration for the Parkland gunman who killed 17 people in February.
But the outcome was different for Harbour: he wounded three passing motorists in Gainesville on Friday with semi-automatic pistol fire before deputies pursued him in a high-speed chase, ending when he shot himself in the head while his car was still in motion.
Hall County Sheriff Gerald Couch told reporters Saturday that a search of Harbour’s belongings revealed handwritten documents praising alleged Parkland killer Nikolas Cruz, calling him a “hero” who gave him “courage and confidence”.
Those revelations were disturbing and “hate-filled”, Couch said.
Harbour, a 26-year-old landscaper, died during a helicopter flight to a hospital. Two people were struck by gunfire in the town about 50 miles (80km) northeast of Atlanta.