Port St. Lucie – Thursday, August 29, 2024: Port St. Lucie Police (PSLPD) have arrested a father and son on separate charges of attempted murder in unrelated cases.
Michael Hronis, 53, was arrested in Port St. Lucie on Tuesday. His son, Joshua Hronis, 24, was arrested by police in West Haven, Connecticut, last Saturday. Father and son are both from Fort Pierce.
THE FATHER
At a news conference Wednesday, PSLPD Police Chief Richard Del Toro said the father, Michael Hronis, is a former employee of TAMCO, a manufacturer and distributor of lighting and electrical products in Port St. Lucie. He was fired from that job in July.
“He was arrested yesterday after traveling to his former place of work,” the police chief said, “with a firearm and ammunition and with a plan to murder two co-workers and his former boss.” His boss wasn't there, so he left.
TAMCO employees called police, who launched a search. Officer Peter Burger found him sitting alone in the back of a nearby Burger King. Hronis was armed with a loaded gun, magazines and ammunition, as well as the ashes of his own father and mother. “He was calm and cooperative,” Del Toro said.
Michael Hronis told Officer Burger he went to TAMCO to “kill a few people who ruined his life, but he couldn't go through with it,” Chief Del Toro said. Hronis had recently been evicted from his apartment, was living in a hotel and had run out of money. He told police he had planned to take his own life after shooting his former colleagues.
Michael Hronis was charged with three counts of attempted premeditated murder and one count of armed burglary.
THE SON
The son, Joshua Hronis, was identified as the gunman in the Aug. 16 shooting outside the VYBZ Lounge that left two men injured. Chief Del Toro said Joshua fled to relatives in Connecticut, where he was arrested last weekend.
He is currently being held in Connecticut awaiting extradition to Florida.
Joshua is also charged with three counts of attempted murder and possession of a weapon by a convicted felon.
