Florida Man Kills Hotel Employee Over Cigarette Lighter

One Florida man was accused of murdering a hotel employee in Kentucky after he was refused to have a cigarette lighter.

The suspect was identified as 55-year-old Robert Pannell and was booked into the local jail for charges, including murder, according to Deputies in McCracken County, Kentucky.

Authorities noted that they got 911 calls of a possible active shooter at a hotel in the city of Paducah, according to Law & Crime.

A responding deputy found one female victim on the first floor of the hotel. She was described as suffering multiple gunshot wounds to her head and body.

Authorities said Pannell is from Palm Coast, Florida. It was not immediately clear why the 55-year-old Florida man was in Paducah.

Aside from the murder charges against him, he is also facing assault in the first degree, assault in the fourth degree, wanton endangerment in the first degree, assault in the third degree of a police officer or probation officer, and menacing.

He is also facing disorderly conduct in the second degree and resisting arrest.

Florida Man Murders Over Cigarette Lighter

The investigation revealed that Pannell allegedly assaulted a man and a woman after the couple refused to give him a lighter. The incident took place in the parking lot of the hotel, as cited by Fox 35 Orlando.

Deputies went on to say that several people were close by as Pannell reportedly shot the woman multiple times.

McCracken County Sheriff's Office said in its release that it started with an altercation with the couple in the parking lot, which then escalated, prompting Pannell to bring his handgun inside the building and shot the female victim.

After shooting the female victim, he threw his handgun inside the lobby of the hotel, where he was listed as a guest.

Meanwhile, the hotel employee was taken to a local hospital, where she then passed away due to her injuries.

She was at first being kept alive as she was a donor. However, her injuries were too severe for organ donation.

Authorities noted that the County Office will not be releasing her name at the request of the family she left behind.

It is not yet determined what led to the Florida man's actions.

Authorities said that the investigation is ongoing and authorities are working with the Flagler County Sheriff's Office with on the probe.

U.S. Gun Violence

A non-profit research database, the Gun Violence Archive, noted that the number of mass shootings has increased significantly in recent years, as shown by BBC News.

It was reported that there have been more than 600 mass shootings in the last three years, which equates to almost two a day on average.

Data also showed that around 53 people are killed each day by a firearm in the United States.

The U.S. ratio of 120.5 firearms per 100 residents was an increase from 88 per 100 in 2011. It surpassed other countries around the world with that ratio.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: Gun violence: An American epidemic? l ABC News - from ABC News