Devon Arthurs is 18-years-old, from Tampa, FL, and a Muslim who wanted his roommates to respect his faith after he shifted his stance from neo-Nazi beliefs and converted to Islam.
Rather than accept their roommate’s new-found religion, they doled out disparaging remarks, according to Arthurs. He claims that he shot 22-year-old Jeremy Himmelman and 18-year-old Andrew Oneschuk at their Tampa Palms apartment on Amberly Drive on May 19, he told police.
After turning to Islam, Arthurs said he no longer had neo-Nazism in common with the victims. He claimed that he was unhappy about anti-Muslim attitudes, which led him to draw attention to those sentiments.
He went to a neighborhood smoke shop. He bragged that he shot his roommates with a semi-automatic pistol.
Detective Kenneth Nightlinger, Tampa Bay police, noted in a report that the suspect was upset that the United States bombed Muslim countries.
After Arthurs had released his hostages, he surrendered. Police said he referred to Allah Mohammed. They asked him whether anyone else was hurt. The suspected killer said his roommates were in the apartment not hurt, but dead. He guided law enforcement to his apartment.
According to the police report, two of Arthurs’ (three) roommates were discovered. They were shot in the head and the upper body. Arthurs identified Himmelman and Oneschuk.
Another roommate, Brandon Russell, was outside the apartment.
Arthurs said Russell was a roommate. Russell was visibly upset and crying. He was wearing full U.S. Army camouflage. He returned to the apartment from the National Guard.
Explosives found in the apartment’s garage
When investigators searched the apartment’s garage, they unearthed a trove of explosives: HMTD (hexamethylene triperoxide diamine, a high explosive organic compound) and over a pound of ammonium nitrate, which was addressed to Russell, a self-admitted neo-Nazi.
His bedroom was decorated with a framed photo of Timothy McVeigh, convicted and executed for the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, Oklahoma City. Additional Nazi and white supremacist propaganda were found.
Empty bullet casings with fuses – that can be used to detonate the explosive material were also discovered, according to the criminal complaint filed in U.S.
District Court, Middle District of Florida.
Russell told law enforcement officials that he was a neo-Nazi, a national socialist, and a member of the white supremacy group Atomwaffen (German for atomic weapon). He claimed owning the explosive devices found in the garage. In 2013, he said, they were used to make homemade rockets while he was in an engineering club, University of South Florida. However, FBI agents contend HMTD is too energetic and volatile to use for boosting rockets and sending balloons into the atmosphere, as Russell claimed.
Roommates’ lives splintered when suspected killer split from neo-Nazism
Before converting to Islam, the four roommates shared neo-Nazi beliefs, according to the self-confessed shooter.
Arthurs also told police that Russell was involved in neo-Nazi internet chat rooms. And that he threatened to kill people and “bomb infrastructure.”
Roughly a week after moving in with Arthurs, she said, they knew something was “off” with him. Both roommates were planning to move on Monday, three days after being found dead.
Himmelman’s sister, Lyssa Himmelman, said her brother and Oneschuk recently moved from Massachusetts to Florida for a change of pace. Arthurs invited the duo to live with him. The decedent's aspired to enlist in the military. She did not know the suspected killer well, she said, except that he had extreme views causing problems among the roommates.
Two dead and two roommates arrested
According to Tampa Police Department, the FBI was called after the alleged killer starting telling them about neo-Nazi “stuff” in the apartment. A state search warrant was also obtained. The HMTD was discovered in a cooler in the garage, described as a white cake-like substance, and identified by two FBI and Tampa Police bomb squad officials.
Russell was arrested May 21 after reportedly being linked to explosive devices found in the Tampa apartment shared with Arthurs, Himmelman, and Oneschuk. No court date has been scheduled. He is charged with unlawful storage of explosive material and possession of the unregistered destructive device.
Arthurs remains in Hillsborough County Jail without bail.
He’s been detained since May 19. He faces two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of aggravated assault. He is additionally facing three counts of armed kidnapping. A court hearing was on the court docket Wednesday, but the hearing was postponed.
Attorneys need more time to locate witnesses who do not reside locally and who may testify at the bond hearing, according to Mike Peacock, the Assistant Public Defender Judge Jennifer Gabbard granted Peacock's request.
Arthurs’ bond hearing is rescheduled for June 12.
