Social media post alleges that employee of KindVet had been bullied by senior staff members
The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office is investigating an apparent murder/suicide incident that was reported at 5:11 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 18, in the area of 3900 Clark Road in Sarasota.
The agency reported that it received reports of shots fired at that location. When deputies entered the business, a news release said, they found two individuals with apparent gunshot wounds.
“The suspect was pronounced deceased at the scene,” the release added. “The victim was transported to Sarasota Memorial Hospital where they were later pronounced deceased,” the release said.
In an update issued late in the afternoon of Oct. 19, the Sheriff’s Office reported, “Investigators have identified Morgan Dana Kronstadt, 38, of Bradenton as the shooter who entered [the] business yesterday and shot an individual before shooting herself. Per Marsy’s Law, the sheriff’s office cannot provide further identifiable details,” the release pointed out.
“It is believed that the suspect entered through the front door and locked it from the inside before locating and shooting the victim,” the update continued. “Three other subjects, who were present at the time of the shooting, escaped uninjured out the rear of the business and called 911. Upon arrival, deputies found a locked front door and forcibly gained entry to the business, where they discovered both the victim and Kronstadt. … Kronstadt was deceased at the scene.”
The Oct. 18 release noted that the Sheriff’s Office had been made aware “of a social media post that is potentially connected to the incident.”
Several comments that The Sarasota News Leader read on the Nextdoor app, which were dated Oct. 18, included images of a Facebook post written by a person regarding that person’s experiences as an employee of KindVet of Sarasota Urgent Care, which stands at 3900 Clark Road, Unit 4.
The individuals who included that Facebook post with their remarks were responding to others asking whether anyone knew why so many law enforcement vehicles were at the Clark Road business complex where the shootings occurred .
In that Facebook post, the writer referenced four employees at KindVet, saying, “I need everyone to know the truth. I have a mental health disorder, and was diagnosed with Bipolar disorder earlier in my life. I have been on medication for this disorder for multiple years, successfully. I am not crazy and I didn’t ‘snap’ as I’m sure people will say.”
The writer then alleged, “There have been many issues including bullying by management. Employees have gone to [the center’s medical director] multiple times over months with concerns and complaints about [a senior staff member] and bullying by her and nothing, not even [the medical director] having a conversation with [that staff member] was ever done.”
Additionally, the individual wrote, “What is happening is solely based on my experience of bullying from [the medical director and the other staff member] that has been at an all time high recently. … There is so much more to go into but there will never be enough time to do so.”
The person continued, “This career is just so ridiculously hard to begin with. Then add having to deal with disrespectful clients and bullying from the people that are supposed to be your team. Please think twice before pushing someone so far[.]”
Individuals commenting on the Oct. 18 incident on Nextdoor said that the post was deleted later from Facebook.
The News Leader is not identifying the individuals cited in that post, given the ongoing investigation. The name of the writer was not shown in the images the News Leader viewed on Nextdoor.
Gale Hanscom, who also commented about the incident on Nextdoor, wrote that her daughter “was an employee inside hiding in [a] closet” during the incident. Hanscom added that her daughter “called 911 from the closet. She is extremely traumatized.”