A violent spree spanning two coasts ended in a quiet Sarasota neighborhood Tuesday, leaving five people dead in what authorities are describing as a targeted attack. The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office has identified the shooter as 51-year-old Russell Kot, who investigators believe killed four people before turning the gun on himself.
The tragedy began to unfold at 12:24 p.m. on February 10, when emergency dispatchers received a 911 call from the Amberlea community. Callers reported that a man had been shot outside a home near the intersection of Proctor and McIntosh Roads.
Deputies arrived to find neighbors frantically performing CPR on a man in the front yard. While the victim was moved to safety so paramedics could take over, he was pronounced dead shortly after.
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Concerned that the man’s wife was still inside the house, deputies breached the front door. Once inside, they discovered four more bodies—two men and two women. Among the deceased was Kot, the suspected gunman.
The investigation quickly expanded across the state. Detectives learned from the Fort Lauderdale Police Department that they were investigating a double homicide from earlier that morning. Data from license plate readers tracked Kot’s vehicle moving north through Punta Gorda shortly after the South Florida murders.
Surveillance footage provided by the Amberlea HOA and neighbors’ Ring cameras helped detectives piece together a chilling timeline. Kot entered the gated neighborhood at 11:01 a.m., more than an hour before police were called.
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Gunfire was captured on audio shortly after his arrival. In a tragic twist of timing, the male victim found on the lawn did not arrive home until 11:38 a.m. He was shot as he approached his own front door.
The victims have been identified as 49-year-old Olga Greinert, 65-year-old Florita Stolyar, 61-year-old Anatoly Ioffe, and 39-year-old Yaroslav Blyudoy.
According to investigators, the link between the two crime scenes appears to be a past romantic relationship between Kot and one of the victims in Fort Lauderdale, who was in turn connected to the Sarasota family. Despite the scale of the violence, the Sheriff’s Office noted that Kot had no documented history of violence or known mental health crises.
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