'He terrorized those people's lives': Man went into ex-girlfriend's office and blasted her with shotgun 'at point blank range,' striking co-worker too, police say
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Inset: Keith Roberts Jr. (Manatee County Sheriff”s Office). Background: Law enforcement responds to an office building in Bradenton, Florida, after a shooting (Bradenton Police Department). 

In a harrowing incident in Florida, a man is accused of storming into his ex-girlfriend’s workplace and fatally shooting her before targeting one of her colleagues. The alleged gunman, identified as 29-year-old Keith Roberts Jr., now faces serious charges, including first-degree murder for the death of Myshaela Burnham, also 29, according to court documents accessed by Law&Crime.

Roberts has additionally been charged with attempted first-degree murder involving a firearm. The tragic events unfolded around 12:45 p.m. on Thursday when Burnham was at her office located in a suite on the 5200 block of 4th Avenue in Bradenton, a city just to the south of Tampa.

Providing further details, Bradenton City Police Chief Jason Cramer shared insights into the incident’s progression with local media, specifically NBC affiliate WFLA. His account paints a chilling picture of what allegedly transpired in the office complex that day.

On Thursday at about 12:45 p.m., Burnham was working at a suite of offices on the 5200 block of 4th Avenue in Bradenton, which is located just south of Tampa.

Bradenton City Police Chief Jason Cramer explained what allegedly occurred next in comments to area NBC affiliate WFLA.

Roberts “walked in an unlocked door and went directly to the desk where the victim was … knowing that’s where her desk was, and directly opened fire at point blank range,” Cramer said, adding that the suspect had two guns on him during the crime, one of them being a shotgun.

The police chief said a co-worker of Burnham’s who was at an adjoining desk was hit by the shotgun blast.

“That’s how close it was that the blast hit her, too,” the police chief continued. “And then he, in what can only be called premeditated, took out a gun and started shooting directly at her.”

Multiple people called 911 and described a vehicle driving away from the scene. The Bradenton Police Department contacted other agencies in the area, such as the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, and together, they took Roberts into custody “within 25 minutes of the shooting.”

Authorities have not released the name of the other victim, noting on Friday that she was hospitalized and listed as stable after undergoing surgery.

“[She] was shot multiple times, shotgun blast and handgun blast. She’s lucky to be alive, [she] really is, and we’re all praying for her safe recovery,” he added.

Photos taken by law enforcement at the scene show the adjoining office to where the victims worked is a dental office. While Bradenton police spokesperson Meredith Censullo noted to local Fox affiliate WTVT that the office where the crime occurred had no patients, she said “a lot of people” heard the shooting.

“This man is a terrorist,” Cramer said. “He terrorized those people’s lives. He’s changed the lives of four people or two victims, the children of a victim, the man himself. Their lives are either over or changed forever.”

“The cruelty and the evil that Keith Roberts portrayed yesterday can never be forgiven,” he added.

Court records show Roberts made his first appearance in court on Friday.

The defendant is scheduled to return a week from that date and then be arraigned on Feb. 13.

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