The shooting left a Florida county government grieving as police searched for the husband of one victim.
VERO BEACH, Fla. — Indian River County officials on Wednesday mourned two longtime public employees killed outside a downtown library as police searched for the estranged husband of one victim in what investigators called a targeted and deeply personal shooting.
Danny Ooley, 56, the county’s assistant public works director, and Stacie Ellis Mason, 49, a traffic analyst technician, were found dead Tuesday morning in and around a pickup truck in the parking lot of the Indian River County Main Library. Vero Beach police say Mason’s husband, Jesse Scott Ellis, 64, is the suspect. The killings have shaken county offices and the wider community because both victims were well known inside local government and had spent years working in roles that touched daily life across the county.
County leaders used their first public statements to focus on the people behind the headlines. Ooley had worked for Indian River County for nearly 25 years, according to County Administrator John Titkanich, and rose through the department from maintenance worker to assistant public works director. Mason had worked for the county for 14 years as a traffic analyst technician. In a joint statement, Chairman Deryl Loar and Titkanich said “the reality of this loss is profound” and described both victims as dedicated public servants whose absence would be felt across the organization and the community. Their jobs were not ceremonial roles. Public works employees help oversee roads, traffic planning and the steady systems that residents notice most when they fail. That helped explain why the deaths reverberated well beyond the victims’ families and co-workers and quickly became one of the county’s defining stories of the week.
Police say the shooting unfolded at about 7:01 a.m. Tuesday in the north or rear parking area of the main library at 1600 21st St. Chief David Currey said surveillance video showed Ooley arrive first in a Ford Ranger. Mason arrived a short time later in a black Volkswagen Atlas, got out, walked to the passenger side of Ooley’s truck and got inside. Investigators say Ellis then approached and opened fire with an AR-style long gun. Currey said Ooley was struck first while in the driver’s seat. Mason was then shot multiple times as the attack continued outside the truck. Officers responding to reports of gunfire found both victims dead at the scene. The chief said the library had apparently served as a meeting point for the two before, and he said Ellis seemed to know their routine. That detail, together with the surveillance footage and the recovery of the rifle at the scene, quickly shifted the investigation toward a targeted attack rather than a random act of violence.
Investigators have tied the case to the collapse of Mason’s marriage and to what police believe was a romantic relationship between Mason and Ooley. Currey said Mason and Ellis had been married for 13 years and were separated, with discussions underway about divorce and selling their home. Detectives believe Mason and Ooley had been romantically involved for at least several weeks. The chief said Ellis had obtained “professional services” to gather information about the relationship, later suggesting that could mean a private investigator or some similar form of outside help. Police have not publicly released documents showing what was learned, how long Ellis had been tracking the pair or whether any prior threats had been reported. They also have not said whether prosecutors have filed formal charges while the search continues. For now, several major questions remain unresolved: whether Ellis is alive, how he moved after leaving the beach, and whether anyone may have seen him after emergency responders encountered a man in the water Tuesday morning.
That search has become one of the most unusual parts of the case. Police say Ellis fled the library scene in a gray Ford F-150 and drove to South Beach Park. A passerby called 911 at 7:58 a.m. after reporting that a tall, older man walked into the ocean fully clothed. About 30 minutes later, fire rescue crews responded to a welfare check and found a man offshore. Assistant Fire Chief Steve Greer said the man did not appear to be in distress, refused help and became agitated. He told crews he was fine and that he did this often, Greer said. At that point, responders did not know they might be dealing with the suspect in a double homicide. Later, police found Ellis’ truck at South Beach Park around 12:45 p.m., looked inside with a drone and determined it was empty. Only after that did emergency responders alert police that the man in the water could be connected to the shooting. Currey said search warrants have since been carried out on the truck, the victims’ vehicles and a South County home linked to Ellis. Multiple firearms, cell phones and other digital evidence were recovered.
Residents and county employees alike have been left to absorb the collision of public duty and private violence. The library sits near the courthouse and other familiar civic spaces in downtown Vero Beach, making the scene especially jarring for workers who pass through the area as part of an ordinary weekday. The attack also occurred across from a preschool that happened to be closed, a fact officials mentioned as they tried to explain how narrowly the violence was contained. Currey has repeatedly called the shooting isolated and targeted, while also warning that any encounter with Ellis could still be dangerous. Counseling and other support services are being offered to county employees as offices try to keep operating under the weight of sudden grief. The practical business of government continues, but now in the shadow of a case that has blurred workplace loss, family breakdown and a still-unfinished manhunt.
By Wednesday night, authorities were still searching land and water along the barrier island and continuing forensic work on phones, vehicles and other evidence. The case stood at a painful midpoint: two county workers dead, one suspect missing, and investigators still trying to determine whether the search will end in an arrest, a recovery at sea or another lead entirely.
Author note: Last updated March 25, 2026.