An illegal immigrant from Honduras was arrested in Haines City, Florida, on Sunday after he allegedly attempted to kill his ex-girlfriend’s new boyfriend and instead accidentally shot off his own finger.
According to WFLA-TV, the attack occurred around 5:45 p.m. on Sunday. Police say that the suspect, Jervin Omar Mendieta Romero, had been going through a “difficult separation” from his girlfriend of 20 years, who apparently broke up with him around four months ago.
Police say that since the breakup, Romero had been sending his ex a series of increasingly violent and threatening text messages, including at least one in which he included a picture of himself holding a firearm.
Romero reportedly drove to his girlfriend’s house on Sunday, demanding entry. When his ex and her new boyfriend refused to admit him, Romero removed a screen window from the rear of the house and entered the house forcibly, whereupon he confronted the new boyfriend angrily and opened fire, hitting him in the hand, chest, shoulder, and head.
According to police, the new boyfriend miraculously survived, but Romero somehow “blasted off” his own ring finger during the fusillade, whereupon he dropped the gun and fled from the scene on foot.