Three tourists from Ohio and Michigan were fatally shot Saturday outside a rental home in Central Florida in what authorities are describing as a random attack. A neighbor has been arrested in connection with the killings, according to the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office.
The incident occurred near 296 Indian Point Circle in the Indian Point subdivision, close to Walt Disney World and south of Orlando. Deputies responded around 12:14 p.m. and found three men outside the home with gunshot wounds. All three were pronounced dead at the scene.
Victims identified
Authorities identified the victims as:
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Robert Lewis Kraft, 70, Holland, Michigan
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Douglas Joseph Kraft, 68, Columbus, Ohio
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James John Puchan, 69, Columbus, Ohio
The men were tourists stranded at the rental property due to car trouble. Robert and Douglas Kraft were brothers, with Douglas being a twin; the twin had left the day before the shooting.
“This was completely random,” Sheriff Christopher Blackmon said. “There was no conflict between these people. It just happened to be the person who lived next door.”
Suspect arrested
Investigators apprehended 29-year-old Ahmad Jihad Bojeh, the next-door neighbor, shortly after the shooting. Deputies recovered two firearms from his home and are working to determine which weapon was used. Bojeh faces three counts of first-degree murder and is being held at the Osceola County Jail.
Bojeh had prior contact with law enforcement, including a 2021 incident in which he allegedly fired a gun at a person and random vehicles in a Kissimmee gas station parking lot. He was later acquitted by reason of insanity.
Neighbors described the shooting as sudden and terrifying, leaving the community shaken. Victims’ families released a statement calling the deaths an “unexpected and unimaginable pain” and remembered the men as beloved husbands, fathers, grandfathers, brothers, and friends.