POLK COUNTY, Fla. – Three friends were murdered moments after getting together to do some night fishing at a lake. Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said Saturday that the men were beaten and shot late Friday night near the city of Frostproof.
Killed were Damion Tillman, 23, Keven Springfield, 30, and Brandon Rollins, 27.
A preliminary investigation showed that around 10:06 p.m. Friday, Rollins called his dad and said “Help. "
“Brandon was able to say a few things to his dad, which we are not releasing at this time,” Grady said.
Judd described the killing as a “massacre.” He would not speculate about whether the assailants knew the victim, although he also suggested it wasn’t a random attack.
On the Polk County Sheriff’s website, a news release stated that “Brandon’s dad left his home so fast, he forgot his cell phone. He drove to the nearest gas station to call 911. When first responders arrived, all three men were deceased. They appear to have been beaten and shot. According to the families, the three men have been best friends for years and were fishing Friday night (on land, not in a boat).”
The sheriff’s department believes multiple people were involved in the murders.
The area where the three men were killed is about 68 miles southwest of Orlando and more than 200 miles from Miami.
(Local 10.com’s Michelle Solomon contributed to this report.)