Cellphone video emerged showing a man with a machine gun allegedly carjacking an SUV in broad daylight at a traffic light near Winter Springs, Florida, FOX35 reported Friday.
The woman inside the SUV, Katherine Aguasvivas, 31, was on her way to visit family in central Florida, but she never made it, according to FOX35.
A murder investigation was opened by police after finding a burned SUV and a body inside they believe to be Aguasvivas, ABC News reported. (RELATED: Video Shows Cop Shooting Suspect After He Clings To Vehicle Door During Attempted Carjacking)
A murder investigation is underway after a body was found in a burned SUV in central Florida in what investigators strongly believe is connected to an armed carjacking that was caught on video, authorities said. https://t.co/d0jpDx2U8b
— ABC News (@ABC) April 13, 2024
Police believe the murder to be connected to what Seminole County Sheriff Dennis Lemma called an “incredibly frightening” and “bold” carjacking conducted by a man wearing a “ninja-style” mask and holding what appears to be an automatic weapon, according to the outlet.
The video, shot by a witness who reported the incident to police, shows the suspect get out of a green Acura sedan, approach the SUV and allegedly point a gun at the driver before jumping in through the rear driver’s-side door, ABC reported.
Aguasvivas reportedly called her husband moments before the incident to tell him she was being followed by the green Acura and that it had been ramming into her SUV, Sheriff Lemma said. He added that Aguasvivas’s husband told her to stay in the car and keep driving, according to the outlet.
Witnesses reported that about one hour later they heard gunshots and saw smoke emanating from a car fire in a construction area, according to FOX35.
Police have not been able to officially identify the body which was in the badly burned vehicle, but believe the deceased is Aguasvivas, ABC reported.
Sheriff Lemma said that twelve shell casings and one projectile were found at the scene, according to the outlet. He added that authorities are currently looking for the green Acura and the occupants inside who followed Aguasvivas after the assailant allegedly took her captive.
“This was not a random act of violence, the perpetrators knew exactly who they were going after,” Lemma said. “Why they’re going after them is something that is a part of our ongoing, continuing investigation.”