Families, parishioners left with questions after Palm Bay shootings leave 4 dead including priest
A sense of stunned disbelief continues its hold over families at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Palm Bay and across the city after the shooting deaths of a retired priest and two other people by a 24-year-old gunman who was killed by police.
Brandon Kapas shot and killed his grandfather, William Kapas Sr., during a family celebration Sunday, Palm Bay police said. Two Palm Bay police officers, Stephen Ball and Nicholas Franze, were shot and wounded as Kapas tried to flee, and police returned fire, killing him. Both officers are recovering.
Palm Bay police thought that was the extent of the violence, but then when they tracked the car Kapas drove to his family's house, they found it registered to Father Robert "Bob" Hoeffner, who retired from St. Joseph's Church in 2016. At Hoeffner's home, which he shared with his sister, Sally Hoeffner, police found the siblings dead from gunshot wounds.
An arsenal of guns and other items were found in the car, police said, perhaps evidence that a bigger event might have been planned by the shooter.
Palm Bay police continue to search for a motive in the shooting deaths, going over evidence, including a possible note from the suspected gunman, and talking to witnesses.
The Kapas family had strong connections with St. Joseph's, with some working in the office or helping around the church.
“What happened Sunday, that was not my nephew,” said William Kapas Jr., the shooter's uncle and the victim's son. “The Brandon I knew was a beautiful soul.”
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'It was a hard day'
Even as the investigation continues into what triggered the eruption of violence, parishioners, family members, even police who attend the Catholic church, talked about the impact of the shootings on the community.
Across social media, pictures of "Father Bob" Hoeffner baking bread with children, baptizing babies or talking with couples were in sharp contrast with the tragic way he died.
Many congregants at St. Joseph Catholic Church, where Hoeffner retired in 2016 after celebrating 50 years in the priesthood, found themselves in a state of shock.
“It was a hard day yesterday. My wife and I were both shaken,” said 71-year-old Jeff Davis, who has been part of the Palm Bay congregation since 2005.
He recalled how Father Hoeffner supported him as he coped with a personal tragedy nearly a decade ago. The news left both Davis and his wife in tears with the question: Why?
“(Father Bob) definitely would listen to you. I think we’ll all struggle for a while, but I think people are resilient," he said. "There has to be a reason for everything.”
Birthday party turns tragic
The first victim, William Kapas Sr., 78, of Kentucky, was visiting Palm Bay. He had gathered with others to celebrate the 21st birthday for his granddaughter on that sunny afternoon at the family's home at 473 Forgal Ave.
Then something went wrong, family members said, something that was out of character for Brandon Kapas.
Brandon Kapas began to get disruptive, yelling, police reported. Officers arrived and tried to talk with him as he walked out of the home. Police were warned he might have weapons in the vehicle so they tried to stop him, deploying a Taser at one point. Kapas then ran, firing his weapon as his grandfather, William Kapas Sr., tried to intervene to help. William Kapas was shot dead by his grandson, police said.
Officers returned fire, killing Kapas in a volley of shots after he failed to comply with commands to put his handgun down, police reported.
For William Kapas Jr., the scenario played out like a nightmare. He has been struggling to understand the loss since hearing the news.
“My father would spend his retirement years driving from family members' houses from Wisconsin to Florida, visiting his twin brother in Georgia and his twin sisters,” said William Kapas Jr., who was leaving for the airport to come to Palm Bay after getting word of the deadly shootings.
He said his father worked for a box company in Chicago before retiring.
“Most of my memories of my dad dealt with fishing or the Chicago Cubs, he was just a very loving person,” Kapas Jr. said.
Family struggling to understand what happened
William Kapas Jr. also spoke about Brandon Kapas, recalling the nephew he loved as someone who once managed a dollar store and loved wearing bowties and dressing in stylish shoes.
“Brandon played football when he was in high school,” at Melbourne Central Catholic, his uncle said.
Brandon Kapas did have his legal troubles, including a December 2023 DUI arrest that was set for an upcoming court date, his uncle said. He also lost his 49-year-old mother, who was left paralyzed as the result of a single-vehicle car crash over a decade. She died last year.
But he also talked about the future.
“He would call me and talk to me. He was wondering if there was any way he could get into the trucking industry," Kapas Jr. said.
"I even talked about him coming to stay with me. He was definitely future-oriented, a normal 24-year-old kid."
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Kapas Jr. said the pair would also occasionally talk about faith. He described his nephew as a protector of his family, someone who watched out for his sisters.
Community remembers the victims
Among the victims was Sally Hoeffner, 69, the sister of Father Hoeffner. The pair lived together in a modest, single-story brick home in the northwest section of Palm Bay. Sally Hoeffner was known as one of the many volunteers who served the 1,000 family-St. Joseph's Catholic community.
“She was always around the school helping out. She was just a sweet lady, just nice people,” said Stuart Borton, owner of the Yellow Dog Café and a longtime community volunteer.
“My wife’s a Catholic and I knew Father Bob for years. He would come by our restaurant, Yellow Dog Café, at least once a month. (Sally) would come with him every time. He loved the meatloaf and onion-crusted chicken."
Borton recalled how Father Hoeffner heard about a deadly crash that killed a couple near the restaurant nearly a decade ago.
“He came by to bless the restaurant and to give comfort to us," he said. "He was one of the first people to just reach out to us to make sure we were OK. This is a disaster, what happened to him.”
Father Hoeffner, called a "pillar of the community" by Palm Bay Police Chief Mariano Augello for his work in the ministry, grew up in Fort Pierce, a city two counties south of Palm Bay and where his relatives grew rows of citrus trees. His family remains in that area.
He decided to go to seminary at 14, choosing a life of a Catholic priest and service, according to the Orlando Diocese. After heading parishes in Orlando, he took the opportunity to become lead pastor at St. Joseph in 1998, the year after a mass shooting that led to the deaths of two police officers and four others in Palm Bay, then a still growing community with two-lane roads.
The congregation, with its adjacent school, was already known as a mainstay for police officers and firefighters from Palm Bay and Melbourne, with Hoeffner overseeing countless weddings, baptisms and other life events for the Catholic community.
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Palm Bay Officer Chris Robinson, who like a number of other officers had personal connections with the congregation over the years, recalled Father Hoeffner’s willingness to help others. Although a non-Catholic, he and others found themselves crossing paths with Father Hoeffner.
“He was always super nice. A lot of officers were friends with him,” Robinson recalled.
“And one of the things that really sticks out is that every year at the festival he would make chili and clam chowder. Everybody loved his chili. He was really a good guy."
J.D. Gallop is a criminal justice/breaking news reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Gallop at 321-917-4641 or jgallop@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @JDGallop.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Deaths of 4 in Palm Bay shootings leave church, community asking: Why?
