A Farmington, Connecticut man was killed in Florida while making a “bucket list” bicycling trip down the East Coast, according to WPTV, the NBC affiliate in West Palm Beach, Florida.
The victim, identified as Kevin Adorno, 28, of Unionville, was at a McDonald's restaurant on U.S. Route 1 when he was stabbed around 9:30 p.m. on Monday. Police have identified the suspected attacker as a homeless man.
Authorities responded and found Adorno lying on the floor near the bathrooms. He’d been stabbed several times in the chest and arm, police said, and was pronounced dead a short time later at Indian River Medical Center.
Police took 59-year-old Rene Herrera Cruz into custody at a Burger King across the street from the crime scene.
According to police, Cruz admitted to stabbing Adorno and said he thought Adorno was “directing other people via cellphone to attack him,” and felt threatened, so he attacked.
No statements led detectives to believe that Adorno had threatened Cruz any way, WPTV reports.
Police said they were familiar with Cruz.
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"We dealt with him actually the night before. He called us from Burger King right across the street and he told responding officers that individuals were looking for him or were after him," said Vero Beach Police Chief David Currey.
Adorno was heading from Maryland to Miami when he was attacked and was going to propose to his girlfriend, according to WPTV. He made the same trip from Maine to Maryland last summer.
Police said during a news conference that Adorno happened to stop in Vero Beach to buy food and charge his cellphone. He was on the phone with his girlfriend when Cruz attacked.
Cruz has been charged with first-degree murder, WPTV reports.
