Suspect identified in homicide that led to standoff at The Ben Hotel in West Palm Beach
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) — A suspect accused of fatally shooting a woman in Loxahatchee, followed by an hours-long standoff at The Ben hotel in downtown West Palm Beach, is in custody.
Saturday morning, The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office (PBSO) identified the suspect as Todd Wegrich.
The investigation began shortly after 3 p.m. Friday, when the PBSO communications center received a report of a shooting in the 1400 block of Tangle Orchid Trace in Loxahatchee’s Arden community.
Deputies arrived and found an adult woman dead from apparent gunshot wounds.
During the preliminary investigation, deputies learned the suspected shooter had traveled to downtown West Palm Beach. Investigators later determined Wegrich had barricaded himself inside a room at The Ben Hotel on North Narcissus Avenue.
West Palm Beach Police SWAT officers responded and surrounded the hotel as they worked to take him into custody safely.
The standoff prompted a massive law enforcement response and extensive road closures around the hotel. Officers carrying rifles were positioned on nearby rooftops, police drones circled above the building and a bomb squad arrived Friday evening.
The hotel and its restaurants were closed to the public during the response, leaving some guests unable to enter and nearby residents unable to access their apartments.
Wegrich was eventually transported to the Palm Beach County Jail and booked on a charge of first-degree murder. He is expected to make his first court appearance Sunday morning.
Authorities have not released the victim’s identity, her relationship to Wegrich or what may have led to the shooting.
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