Devon Arthurs, 18, was arrested last Friday after showing Tampa Police the bodies of his two roommates and confessing to killing them because they dissed him for converting to Islam. Arthurs’ roommates were neo-Nazis, a path the killer had shared until his change of heart.
What would the Mufti and the Führer have to say about this one?
Arthurs told police his act had been driven by anger about anti-Muslim sentiment. Following the double murder, he decided to hold hostages at a smoke shop in Tampa, where Police eventually convinced him to let his hostages go. He then told police about the murder scene in his apartment and offered to lead them there.
Tampa Police said the apartment was full of Nazi propaganda, bob-making materials, and two dead Nazis: Jeremy Himmelman, 22, and Andrew Oneschuk, 18.
Police also discovered a fourth roommate, one Brandon Russell, and picked him up on bomb making charges. According to Police, Russell, a member of the Florida National Guard member, was outside the apartment “crying and visibly upset.”
According to the police complaint, “Arthurs stated that for some time before the murders, he had been privy to Russell participating in online neo-Nazi internet chat rooms where he threatened to kill people and bomb infrastructure.”
According to the Tampa Bay Times, Russell admitted to being a member of a white supremacy group, but claimed that the explosive materials were for homemade rockets and balloons.