Florida
Florida triple murder of 3 tourists was ‘senseless,’ ‘random,’ sheriff says
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A Florida man is accused of shooting and killing three tourists stranded at a rental home on Saturday in what a sheriff described as a “horrific and senseless” act of violence.
Ahmad Jihad Bojeh, 29, was arrested in connection with the murders of three men who were staying at a property next door to his home in Kissimmee, Osceola County Sheriff Christopher Blackmon told reporters Sunday.
“It was cold-blooded, it was premeditated, there was absolutely no issues,” Blackmon said. “There was no conflict between these people. This was just random. And this happened to be the person who lived next door.”
Deputies responded around 12:13 p.m. Saturday to a shooting at a subdivision near Kissimmee and discovered the bodies of three adult males in front of the rental home. All three men suffered apparent gunshot wounds.
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Ahmad Jihad Bojeh, 29, was booked into the Osceola County Jail on three counts of premeditated murder. (Osceola County Jail)
Blackmon said the three victims were stuck at the rental home after having vehicle trouble and had extended their stay for one day to wait for service.
Two of the victims have been identified as Robert Luis Kraft, 69, of Holland, Michigan, and his brother Douglas Joseph Kraft, 68, of Columbus, Ohio, the sheriff said. The third victim was identified as James Puchan, 68, a friend from Ohio, FOX35 Orlando reported.
Blackmon said the shooting was “cold-blooded” and random. (FOX35 Orlando WOFL )
Deputies found Bojeh inside his home next door about an hour later, the sheriff said. Bojeh was arrested on three counts of premeditated murder and one count of resisting arrest without violence, according to online jail records.
Bojeh lived at a home next door to the rental where the victims were murdered, authorities said. (FOX35 Orlando WOFL )
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Blackmon described Bojeh as a “frequent flier to the sheriff’s office.”
“I can tell you he was a threat to that neighborhood all the time,” Blackmon said.
Bojeh was arrested in connection with a previous shooting incident in 2021, but was later “acquitted by reason of insanity,” according to court records obtained by WKMG-TV. (Osceola County Sheriff’s Office)
Bojeh was arrested in 2021 after being accused of shooting at a person and random cars in a Kissimmee gas station parking lot, though court records show he was later “acquitted by reason of insanity,” according to court records obtained by WKMG-TV.
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Bojeh was booked into the Osceola County Jail for the alleged triple murder and was held without bond.
The sheriff said the murder investigation is ongoing.
Austin Smotherman will carry a three-stroke lead into the weekend at the Cognizant Classic at The Palm Beaches.
Smotherman followed his opening 62 with a 2-under-par 69 on Friday at PGA National’s Champion Course in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. That brought him to 11 under, comfortably clear of Taylor Moore, who is in second after his second straight 4-under 67.
Cognizant Classic scoreboard
“Yeah, leading a PGA Tour event, come on, pretty awesome,” Smotherman said.
Smotherman, 31, is in fine position for his first win on the PGA Tour since turning pro a decade ago. He has won three times on the Korn Ferry Tour, including last June.
Afterwards, he credited himself with playing “Austin Smotherman golf.” When asked what that meant, he responded, “as boring and simple as it can be.
“That’s what I want to do out there. I feel like I ball strike it good enough to have that kind of boring golf, a bunch of fairways ideally,” he said.
He suffered three bogeys Friday after a bogey-free opening round, but the key stretch for him after starting on the back nine was between Nos. 17 and 3. He birdied four holes in that stretch, starting with a 54-foot bomb at the par-3 17th hole.
“Anything under par I thought would have been (good) following up a round like yesterday, which was a special one,” he said, “and try not to get too far ahead of myself thinking I’m going to make every long putt I’m looking at, like kind of was the feeling yesterday, and then today I still make a 55-footer on 17.”
Moore overcame a bogey in each half of his round with three birdies on either nine, more than counterbalancing the rough patches to earn his second straight solid score.
“I think very different 67s,” Moore said when comparing his rounds. “I didn’t hit many fairways yesterday, kind of grinded a lot, had a couple chip-ins, which obviously helps. I thought I struck the ball much better today. Drove it in the fairways on the par-5s, I felt like. Yeah, still had a few up-and- downs, obviously, with the tough windy conditions this afternoon, but overall I thought it was solid.”
Canadian A.J. Ewart had the round of the day, a 64 that powered him to 7 under for the week. He’s tied with Colombia’s Nico Echavarria (72), and Joel Dahmen is in fifth at 6 under after a second consecutive 68.
Ewart, who played for nearby Barry University in college, came in with some familiarity.
“We used to come and watch this tournament when I was at school. I think I came up here twice, maybe three times and watched,” Ewart said. “I had never actually played the golf course, but I felt like I knew it just from watching it.”
Irishman Shane Lowry, one of the most recognizable players in the field, is in a large knot for sixth at 5 under after posting a 67. Defending champion Joe Highsmith made the cut on the number at even par.
Notable players who missed the cut included Webb Simpson (1 over), Gary Woodland (2 over), Matt Kuchar (2 over) and Canada’s Adam Hadwin (3 over).
Kim maintains narrow lead in Singapore
Auston Kim maintained a narrow lead over three seasoned competitors with a 3-under-par 69 on Friday at the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore.
Kim carded five birdies and a double-bogey at the par-5 16th hole at Sentosa Golf Club to move to 9-under par, one shot ahead of major champions Minjee Lee of Australia (64 on Friday) and Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn (67) and three- time LPGA Tour winner Haeran Ryu of South Korea (68).
Lurking two shots back at 7-under in the no-cut event are Australia’s Hannah Green (66), Denmark’s Nanna Koerstz Madsen (68), Sweden’s Linn Grant (69) and England’s Mimi Rhodes (69).
Kim, an LPGA Tour member since 2024, has been knocking on the door of her first tour win. The American has eight finishes in the top 10 and was the runner-up at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship last season.
“I think just sticking to my process. I’m trying to earn each shot and win each shot and win each day,” Kim, 25, said of her strategy heading into the weekend. “I can put a hundred percent of my focus into every single shot and try my best to execute each time, I’ll do well.”
Lee soared into contention with an eagle at the par-4 second hole and six birdies in a bogey-free round.
“I think just I holed a few more putts out there,” Lee said of the difference between Friday’s play and her opening-round of 72. “I holed a few long ones and I also holed out for eagle on the second. That always helps the score.”
Jutanugarn had six birdies, including three straight from holes Nos. 5-7, and one bogey.
Ryu collected four birdies in a round free of bogeys, but not free from pain.
“Today, my neck was so bad and I cannot turn it around, it’s so hard, my neck,” Ryu said. “But yeah, golf is not perfect. I just think about it, just hit the fairway and the green. Yeah, that’s good for me. There’s a lot of birdies, and yeah, I’m so happy.”
Angel Yin matched Lee for the low round of the day with a 64 to move into a tie for ninth at 6-under.
Defending champion Lydia Ko of New Zealand (72) remained a 2-under posting four birdies and four bogeys.
World No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand is tied for 33rd at 1-under after a round of 70.
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