Apparent Suicide At Gun Range

For the fourth time in four months, there has been a shooting inside a Central Florida gun range. A man was killed Wednesday night at Rieg's Gun Range on Orange Blossom Trail from an apparent suicide, but since people are used to hearing gunshots no one noticed right away until they found him lying on the ground.

Emergency crews swarmed Reig's Gun Range after employees found the man on the ground bleeding from the gun shot wound.

"He did rent a gun, from the business, he was shooting at targets inside," said Spike Hopkins with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.

The man, identified Thursday as Valentin Pepelea from Canada, was rushed to ORMC in critical condition. A short time later he died.

Investigators are working the case, but it appears to be a suicide. They say it is a bizarre situation, since the owners of the business say he had used the shooting range before.

"This person was a repeat customer. So did they think something bad was going to happen? Probably not, because of his other visits," said Hopkins.

It's not the first time something like this has happened. Investigators say there was a suicide at the gun range late last year. Then in April, Marie Moore opened fire and killed her son Mitchell Moore then turned the gun on herself inside the “Shoot Straight Gun Range” in Casselberry. Three weeks later inside the same gun range,” 26-year-old Jason McCarthy shot and killed himself.

In each of the cases the shooter used a rented gun.

"We don't really know why people are doing this copycatting each other but we have had a few in the Orange County area,” said Hopkins.