Port St. Lucie - Thursday August 29, 2024: Port St. Lucie Police (PSLPD) have arrested a father and a son, each on separate attempted murder charges involving unrelated cases.
53-year-old Michael Hronis was arrested in Port St. Lucie on Tuesday. His 24-year-old son Joshua Hronis was taken into custody last Saturday by police in West Haven Connecticut. Both father and son are from Fort Pierce.
THE FATHER
At a news conference Wednesday, PSLPD Police Chief Richard Del Toro said the father, Michael Hronis, is a former employee of TAMCO, a manufacturer and distributor of lighting and electrical products in Port. St. Lucie. He was fired from that job in July.
"He was arrested (Tuesday) after he traveled to his former place of employment, with a firearm and ammunition with plans to murder two employees and his former boss," " said the Chief, However his boss was not in his office, so Hronis left.
Employees at TAMCO who saw Hronis called police who then began to search for him. Officer Peter Burger found him sitting alone at the back of a nearby Burger King. Hronis was armed with a loaded gun, magazines and ammunition, and he was carrying a small urn with the ashes of his own father and mother.
Michael Hronis told Officer Burger he went to TAMCO to “kill a bunch of people that ruined his life, but couldn’t go through with it,” said Chief Del Toro. Throughout his exchange with Officer Burger, Hronis remained "calm and cooperative," said Del Toro. Hronis said he was recently was evicted from his apartment, was living in a hotel, and had run out of money. He said he planed to take his own life after shooting his former co-workers.
Michael Hronis has been charged with 3 counts of attempted per-meditated murder and one count of armed burglary.
THE SON
The son, Joshua Hronis, was identified as the gunman in the August 16th shooting outside the VYBZ Lounge that injured two men. Chief Del Toro said Joshua fled to relatives in Connecticut where he was apprehended last weekend.
He is currently being held in Connecticut awaiting extradition back to Florida.
Joshua has also been charged with three counts of attempted murder, and one count of possession of a weapon by a convicted felon.