OAN Staff Cory Hawkins
10:44 AM – Tuesday, January 20, 2026
In a tragedy that has shocked the Central Florida community, three visitors were shot and killed on Saturday outside their rental property, located just eight miles from the Walt Disney World Resort.
Osceola County Sheriff Christopher Blackmon announced the arrest of 29-year-old Ahmad Jihad Bojeh, who was described as a neighbor who lived next door to the vacation home.
Police also described Bojeh as a “frequent flier” with a history of law enforcement contact.
Sheriff Blackmon noted that the suspect had been acquitted by reason of insanity following a 2021 shooting incident, yet remained a persistent threat to the neighborhood.
Law enforcement has characterized the motive for this attack as “random” and “senseless” rather than religiously or ideologically motivated. Additionally, no mention of an immigration detainer or illegal status has been made by authorities.
“There is no threat to the community, as a suspect of these horrific and senseless murders has been caught and arrested by Osceola County deputies,” Blackmon said, emphasizing that the suspect is in custody.
On Saturday, Police responded to a slew of 911 calls about gunshots heard at a rental property in the 200 block of Indian Point Circle in the Indian Point subdivision, at around 12:13 p.m. Upon arrival, deputies discovered three men dead with gunshot wounds, according to Blackmon.
Two brothers, Robert Lewis Kraft, 70, of Holland, Michigan, and Douglas Joseph Kraft, 68, of Columbus, Ohio, along with their friend, James John Puchan, 68, of Galena, Ohio, were fatally shot after attending a car show in town. They extended their stay by one day due to vehicle trouble.
While waiting for help with a mechanical issue on their rental vehicle, the group was targeted by Bojeh. According to police, the 29-year-old neighbor emerged from his home and murdered the three tourists in cold blood, despite having had no previous contact or disputes with the men.
“It was cold-blooded, it was premeditated, there were absolutely no issues. There was no conflict between these people. This was just random. And this happened to be the person who lived next door,” Blackmon said.
Roughly an hour after the shooting, deputies located Bojeh inside his residence and took him into custody without incident. Upon searching the home, investigators recovered two firearms.
“As of right now, we have nothing. Just looks like a random – but again, the investigation, you know, it’s ongoing. It’s fresh, it’s new. We’re just a little bit over 24 hours into it, so we’re trying to gather the facts,” Blackmon said.
In 2021, Bojeh was arrested for firing a weapon at a pedestrian and random vehicles in a Kissimmee Wawa parking lot, an incident that left one man injured. Although he was subsequently found not guilty by reason of insanity, court records reveal that his acquittal came with mandatory mental health treatment and a strict prohibition on possessing or accessing firearms.
The discovery of two firearms at Bojeh’s residence following Saturday’s triple homicide has sparked a debate over oversight and how a legally prohibited person obtained such weapons.
Under both Federal Law and Florida Law, any individual who has been “adjudicated as a mental defective” — which explicitly includes being found not guilty by reason of insanity (NGRI) in a criminal case — is strictly prohibited from possessing or purchasing firearms or ammunition.
Second Amendment advocates have pointed to the incident as evidence that strict gun control often fails to stop criminals — who frequently turn to the “black market” — while primarily hindering law-abiding citizens’ ability to defend themselves. Despite these arguments, investigators are still working to determine the exact origin of the weapons and how they ended up in Bojeh’s possession.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier later criticized how the prosecution was handled at the time.
“Prior to State Attorney Worrell’s suspension, Ahmad Jihad Bojeh was acquitted of attempted first-degree murder with a firearm and aggravated battery,” Uthmeier said. “It appears she didn’t put up a fight to Bojeh’s use of the insanity defense, and he was allowed to go free.”
During his initial court appearance on Sunday, 29-year-old Bojeh remained silent as he was denied bond on three counts of first-degree premeditated murder.
The victims had traveled to Florida to attend the Mecum Car Show, a trip their families described as a simple pursuit of a shared passion. In a heartbreaking joint statement, the families mourned the “unexpected, unimaginable loss” of three “wonderful men” in what they called a “random, tragic act” that transformed a relaxing getaway into a nightmare.
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