Priest, sister, to be remembered with Mass in Palm Bay as homicide investigation unfolds
Services, including a Mass led by Bishop John Noonan of the Orlando Diocese, are set for this week in honor of a long-serving priest and his sister, both of whom were killed in a January triple homicide in Palm Bay.
On Monday, St. Joseph Catholic Church parishioners in Palm Bay will gather in a prayer service for Father Bob Hoeffner, who led the church from 1998 until his retirement in 2016, and his sister, Sally Hoeffner.
On Tuesday, Bishop Noonan, who leads the diocese's 400,000 Catholics, will oversee a Mass celebrated at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Community church, centrally located in Viera and with a larger seating capacity.
The St. Joseph service begins at 6 p.m. Monday, with visitation at 5 p.m. The funeral Mass at St. John the Evangelist begins at 11 a.m. Tuesday.
Celebration turned to tragedy
The killings of the Hoeffner siblings came to light after a Jan. 28 birthday party at a Palm Bay home erupted in gunfire.
Brandon Kapas, 24, shot and killed his grandfather, William Kapas Sr., during a family celebration that Sunday afternoon. 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.
When Palm Bay police tracked the car Kapas drove to his family's house, they found it registered to Father Robert "Bob" Hoeffner, 76, who retired from St. Joseph's Church in 2016. The priest and his sister, Sally Hoeffner, 69, were found shot to death in their shared home by officers conducting a welfare check about 6 p.m., just hours after Palm Bay police confronted Kapas.
Palm Bay Police Chief Mariano Augello, who early in the investigation described the priest as a "pillar of the community," said that his patrol officers may have prevented an even larger scale shooting incident from taking place following the initial confrontation in the northwest neighborhood.
The two wounded officers, who remain on administrative leave, are recovering, the chief said.
“Our officers are doing as well as can be expected. They are still recovering both physically and mentally," said Augello. "They are going to be out for a while and should be able to make a full recovery and return to work. They won’t be the same, but they will recover."
Two investigations are underway. One involves the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which is providing an independent investigation into the officer-involved shooting that ended with Kapas dead and the two officers wounded. The other homicide investigation involves the priest and his sister.
More: Families, parishioners left with questions after Palm Bay shootings leave 4 dead including priest
The state attorney’s office will review FDLE’s findings in the case, including the autopsy report and ballistics. Family members say Kapas, who police said was on the ground refusing to drop his weapon, was struck multiple times by gunfire, including in the head, chest and back. Police have not confirmed those injuries.
Detectives are also compiling information on Kapas, who left few social media footprints.
“We are trying to determine what led the suspect to how he ended up doing this," said Augello.
"We are talking to a lot of people and we are getting somewhere. I can say with certainty that had our officers not intervened, this was going to be worse. Everybody in that area was at risk."
Both Brandon Kapas and his grandfather were cremated, family members said. William Kapas Sr. was interred at the St. Joseph Catholic Church cemetery, while the cremains of his grandson remain with the family.
A legacy of service
A Catholic priest who touched the lives of thousands of the faithful, parishioners said, Hoeffner mentored Kapas after the young man's mother was left paralyzed following a single-car crash over a decade before.
The gunman and his family were known to the priest for years, with Hoeffner purchasing a vehicle for Kapas in December. Family members said Kapas had struggled with the faith in recent months.
Hoeffner served at St. Joseph’s Church for 18 years, arriving in 1998. Last year, Hoeffner was honored for his 50th year in the priesthood.
Neighbors had last seen the priest and his sister the Saturday before the shootings, as they headed to church for Mass.
"I probably talked to her more than I did him. I would see (Father Hoeffner) out getting mail from time to time," said David Little, a retired law enforcement officer who lived near the brother and sister.
More: Shootings in Palm Bay: How many mass shootings have happened in Florida so far in 2024?
Kapas, a one-time dollar store manager who according to family members had a passion for guns and compared himself to fictional war veteran Rambo on his Snapchat account, often practiced at area shooting ranges.
Sometime the weekend of the shootings, Kapas turned up at the priest’s residence in northwest Palm Bay, police said.
Police records detail what happened next.
Kapas, dressed in a black shirt and pants, showed up at his family's home about 2 p.m. His conversation, police records show, dealt with trying to convince his family that their Roman Catholic faith had “brainwashed" them. He also began to pass out rocks and was asked to leave the home by his relatives.
Kapas hugged his niece as other relatives called 9-1-1 for help.
Officers arrived by 2:19 p.m. and were met by an uncle who told them Kapas was usually armed with a handgun. Officers then tried to stop Kapas, who was walking away from the home quickly away. An officer tased Kapas and got into a brief struggle before Kapas reached for his handgun and fired at police, the chief said. Officers Stephen Ball and Nicholas Franze were shot, one in the arm and the other in the leg.
The gunman's grandfather attempted to intervene but was shot and killed by the suspect, Augello said.
Kapas, who fell to the ground and sat clutching his gun, was fatally wounded during the shootout and never reached his car where multiple firearms, including a helmet and other equipment, were found, police said.
Police are working to solidify other elements of the investigation, along with autopsy and toxicology reports that could shed more light into Kapas' state of being.
Gerald Hoeffner, 63, of Fort Pierce is the brother of the Hoeffner siblings. Father Hoeffner, he said, had an impact on Catholics across Central Florida during his ministry.
“My brother told me that (Kapas) was a lost soul since his mother had passed away,” he said.
“(Bob) told me that he bought him a car and was working with him and said he was trying to get him a job. He bought the car, but he helped a lot of kids and worked on their resumes. He loved what he did. He connected with so many people. Everybody's got a loss here,"
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: Bishop Noonan to lead Mass for priest, sister as homicide case unfolds
