Florida man allegedly fatally shot Kentucky hotel employee over cigarette lighter

PADUCAH, Ky. (TCD) -- A 55-year-old Florida man was arrested and charged after allegedly fatally shooting a hotel employee over a cigarette lighter.

According to a news release from the McCracken County Sheriff’s Office, on Saturday, Feb. 11, deputies and Paducah Police officers responded to a hotel on John Puryear Drive to a report of an active shooter. There, officers reportedly found a female hotel employee suffering from multiple gunshot wounds to her head and body.

Upon further investigation, police learned Robert Pannell, a hotel guest, assaulted a "male and female in the parking lot of the hotel after the couple could not give Pannell a cigarette lighter."

Pannell allegedly went into the hotel and shot the female victim while other people were nearby. He then reportedly threw the handgun he used in the lobby.

On Feb. 11 at around 4 p.m., the female victim who suffered gunshot wounds died from her injuries in the hospital, according to police.

Pannell was reportedly arrested and charged with first-degree assault, two counts of fourth-degree assault, and four counts of first-degree wanton endangerment. Police said he was also charged with third-degree assault, menacing, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest. The investigation is ongoing, and charges will likely be upgraded.

Police do not yet know why Pannell, of Palm Coast, Florida, was in Paducah, Kentucky.

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• One Arrested After Shooting at Local Hotel — McCracken County Sheriff’s Office