Investigators say a husband tracked his estranged wife to a library parking lot, killed her and a co-worker, then disappeared after heading to a nearby beach.
VERO BEACH, FL — Police in Vero Beach were searching Wednesday for a 64-year-old man they say fatally shot his estranged wife and her co-worker in the parking lot of the Indian River County Main Library, then fled and was later seen entering the Atlantic Ocean.
The killings stunned a coastal Florida community and left two longtime public employees dead in what police described as a targeted domestic attack, not a random shooting. Investigators said the suspect, Jesse Scott Ellis, remains at large after officers found the victims Tuesday morning outside the main library on 21st Street. The case has drawn a wide search on land and water, raised questions about how far the suspect got after the shootings, and shaken county government offices where both victims had worked for years.
Police Chief David Currey said officers were sent to the library area at about 7 a.m. Tuesday after reports of gunfire in the back parking lot of the Indian River County Main Library, 1600 21st St. When they arrived, they found Danny Ooley, 56, assistant director of Public Works, and Stacie Ellis Mason, 49, a traffic analyst technician, dead from multiple gunshot wounds. By Wednesday, investigators had laid out a detailed account based on surveillance video and witness statements. Currey said Ooley drove a black Ford Ranger into the lot first. A short time later, Mason arrived in a black Volkswagen Atlas, got out, walked to the passenger side of Ooley’s truck and got inside. Moments later, Currey said, Ellis drove up, walked to the truck and opened fire. “The library was a location where the victims apparently met before,” Currey said, adding that Ellis appeared to know they would be there that morning.
Investigators said Ellis used a long gun described by police as similar to an AR-15. Currey said surveillance video showed him firing multiple rounds into the truck, striking Ooley in the driver’s seat and Mason in or near the passenger side. Police said the gunman then moved around the vehicle and fired more shots as Mason either fell or was pulled from the truck. Currey said the weapon believed to have been used was recovered at the scene, along with shell casings in the parking lot. What police have not said is whether Ellis left the rifle behind intentionally, whether another weapon may be missing, or whether detectives have found digital or written evidence showing how long he planned the attack. Currey told reporters investigators believe the case grew out of a marriage breaking apart and a relationship between Mason and Ooley. Mason and Ellis had been married for 13 years and were discussing separation or divorce, he said, and the home they shared in southern Indian River County was being prepared for sale.
County officials identified both victims Tuesday after notifying relatives, describing them as experienced employees whose work touched daily life in the county. Ooley had nearly 25 years with Indian River County Public Works and had risen to assistant director. Mason had worked for the county since 2014 and most recently served as a traffic analyst technician. In a joint statement, county leaders said the loss was profound and said Ooley and Mason were not only employees but public servants whose work supported the community every day. The shooting happened near downtown Vero Beach, across from First Baptist Church and its preschool. Police said the preschool was not open at the time, and the library, which normally opens later in the morning, was also closed when the gunfire erupted. Those facts helped limit the number of people in immediate danger, but the location still deepened the shock because the scene sat in a familiar public space used by county workers and residents. Police have said the case was isolated and that there was no continuing threat to the public from an unknown shooter, though the suspect himself had not been found.
After the gunfire, investigators said Ellis left in a 2022 Ford F-150 and drove toward South Beach Park. What happened next has become one of the strangest parts of the case. Currey said a woman called 911 at 7:58 a.m. after seeing a man go into the water fully clothed. Assistant Fire Chief Steve Greer said fire rescue crews were then sent on what was first treated as a welfare check, not a search for a homicide suspect. By the time crews reached the man by boat, he had swum roughly a quarter-mile to a half-mile offshore. Greer said he did not appear to be in distress and refused help. “He said he was okay and that he does this often,” Greer said. Currey said the man gave rescuers a false name. Fire crews returned to shore because they had no reason at that point to detain him and did not yet know he might be tied to the library shooting. Later Tuesday, police found Ellis’ truck unoccupied at South Beach Park, used a drone to look inside, and then connected the offshore swimmer to the homicide investigation.
By Wednesday, multiple law enforcement agencies were still scanning the shoreline and nearby waters while detectives searched Ellis’ truck and worked to build the criminal case. Police publicly named Ellis and released his photo during a Wednesday news conference, but as of late Wednesday no arrest had been announced. Authorities have not publicly detailed any formal charges or said whether a warrant had already been filed in court, though police clearly identified Ellis as the suspected gunman and said he remained the focus of the manhunt. Investigators also have not answered several key questions, including whether Ellis made it back to shore elsewhere, whether he had help after entering the water, or whether he may have died offshore. Currey was blunt when asked where he believed Ellis was. “That’s a good question,” he said. The next steps are expected to include continued searches of coastal areas, forensic work on the vehicles and weapon, review of surveillance footage and witness interviews, and any court filings tied to homicide charges once officers either find Ellis or establish more clearly what happened after he disappeared from sight.
The case has sent a wave of grief through county offices and the broader Vero Beach area, where residents are not used to seeing a library parking lot sealed with crime scene tape and police boats scanning nearby waters. On Tuesday, officers from Vero Beach and Sebastian, Indian River County deputies, Indian River Shores police and wildlife officers were among those working the scene and the beach search. Neighbors and regular beachgoers told local outlets the heavy law enforcement presence was unusual for the quiet community. County officials said counselors and support services were being made available to employees dealing with the deaths. The public outline from police also left behind a painful picture of how personal the attack appeared to be. Currey called it a “targeted marital issue that went terribly, terribly wrong,” a phrase that underscored both the personal motive investigators believe was driving the violence and the broader human cost left behind in two families, a county workforce and a city now waiting for the manhunt to end.
As of Wednesday night, Ellis had not been found, police said, and the search remained active on land and near South Beach. The next major update is expected as investigators announce any arrest, recovery or homicide charges tied to the March 24 killings.
Author note: Last updated March 25, 2026.