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Police: Suspect arrested after man killed in tent near Cocoa Walmart

COCOA, Fla. — A Cocoa man was arrested after police said he shot and killed a 67-year-old man in tent at a homeless camp in a wooded area near a Walmart store Friday night, according to a press release.

Terrance Skinner, 40, was arrested late Friday afternoon at the scene of the crime, Cocoa police spokeswoman Yvonne Martinez said.

According to police, Skinner was being held at gunpoint by witnesses, one of whom ran to the nearby Walmart to flag down a pair of Brevard County sheriff’s deputies who were in the area, police said.

The owner of the tent discovered the body of Wayne Severance, 67, and flagged down deputies at about 3:30 p.m. in the parking lot of the store near Clearlake Road and Michigan Avenue, police said.

Police said investigators learned Severance had been inside the tent with the owner's permission to prevent anyone from stealing the owner's possessions.

When the owner then returned to his tent with someone else, they found Skinner inside the tent and want to know why he was there, since they didn't know him, police said.

The owner then noticed Severance's body and ordered the person he was with to hold Skinner at gun point until he found deputies.

Police said the area is known for drug use but did not say if that played a role in the crime.

The death remains under investigation.

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Posted by Cocoa Police Department on Saturday, May 26, 2018