A quiet gated community in Sarasota, Florida, became the scene of the deadliest single day of violent crime in county history when a gunman killed four people before taking his own life on Tuesday, February 10, 2026. The rampage, connected to an earlier double homicide in Fort Lauderdale, left seven people dead across two Florida cities in a span of hours.
Sarasota County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a 911 call around 12:24 p.m. at a residence on the 4820 block of Fallcrest Circle in the Amberlea neighborhood. A neighbor reported an adult male shot in the front yard. When deputies arrived, neighbors were performing CPR on the victim, who died shortly after being transported by emergency services.
Fearing for other potential victims, deputies entered the home and discovered four additional bodies inside—two women and two men. Authorities identified Russell Kot, 51, as the suspected gunman who killed himself after shooting the others. Each victim sustained multiple gunshot wounds, and investigators recovered more than 20 shell casings from the scene.
The sheriff’s office later identified the Sarasota victims as Olga Greinert, 49; Yaroslav “Stan” Blyudoy, 39; Florita “Rita” Stolyar, 66; and her husband Anatoly “Tony” Ioffe, 61. Investigators believe Kot shot and killed Greinert and Blyudoy first, then waited at the residence until Stolyar and Ioffe returned home, where he murdered them upon arrival.
While processing the Sarasota crime scene, detectives received word from the Fort Lauderdale Police Department about a double homicide that appeared connected to the Amberlea shooting. Fort Lauderdale officers had responded to a wellness check around 1:30 p.m. and discovered 46-year-old Larisa Blyudaya and her 18-year-old son, Ben Azizov, dead inside a Victoria Park neighborhood residence. Investigators determined Kot had killed them before driving more than 200 miles north to Sarasota.
According to the sheriff’s office, Kot relocated from Illinois to Fort Lauderdale in fall 2025 and lived with Larisa Blyudaya—the daughter of victim Florita Stolyar—until the two separated at the end of 2025. Blyudaya and her son became the victims of the Fort Lauderdale double homicide. Kot had previously stayed at the Sarasota home or cared for the family’s animals in the months leading up to the killings and had met Greinert, a family friend helping with household cleaning, at least once at the residence.
Surveillance footage captured Kot’s vehicle traveling northbound through Punta Gorda before the Sarasota killings. Additional video showed the vehicle entering the Amberlea neighborhood at approximately 11:01 a.m., more than an hour before deputies received the 911 call. A neighbor’s security camera recorded the sound of gunfire shortly after Kot’s arrival.
Investigators executed a search warrant on Kot’s vehicle and discovered a disturbing arsenal: two handguns, ammunition, five knives, rope, tape, and an axe. These items were in addition to the two handguns Kot carried when he entered the Amberlea residence. After killing Greinert and Blyudoy, Kot sent a suicidal text message to members of his family, then remained at the home until Stolyar and Ioffe arrived.
The sheriff’s office placed several area schools on lockdown as a precaution following the shooting, including Sarasota Middle School, Suncoast Technical College, Suncoast Polytechnical High School, Wilkinson Elementary School, and Ashton Elementary School. Lockdowns were lifted within approximately 15 minutes after deputies confirmed the threat was contained.
Deputies set up a media staging area at Bee Ridge Presbyterian Church, about a block from the shooting scene. Law enforcement maintained a heavy presence throughout the afternoon, checking identification of residents entering the gated community to ensure only those who lived there could access the area around the crime scene.
David Hannon, who lives across the street from the crime scene, told reporters he heard distinct gunshots around noon. “I heard 5 distinct sounds and I recognized as gunshots,” Hannon told FOX 13.
According to a review by the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, the five deaths at the Amberlea home represent the deadliest violent incident in Sarasota County’s recorded history. Previous homicide cases in the county typically involved one or two victims, occasionally three, but never four or more in a single event.
The sheriff’s office said the home had received two previous 911 calls for service, though deputies did not disclose the nature or timing of those calls. Investigators found no signs of forced entry at the scene. The sheriff’s office added that Kot had no documented history of mental health crises or violence.
Kot’s cellphone records did not reveal any apparent triggering event involving Blyudaya or her family before the shootings. Detectives continue working to establish a motive for the killings across both counties. In a statement released Thursday, the victims’ family members called the crime “a devastating loss” and said they are “navigating urgent and overwhelming practical matters.”