Father and son arrested for attempted murder in separate incidents in Port St. Lucie

According to Port St. Lucie police, a father and son from Fort Pierce were arrested in separate, unrelated incidents. Both are facing charges including three counts of attempted murder.

Joshua Hronis was arrested for his connection to the Vybz Lounge shooting earlier this month.

His father, Michael Hronis, was arrested on Monday after attempting to kill his former boss and two of his colleagues.

“Is your name Michael?” a Port St. Lucie police officer can be heard asking on a bodycam. “Yep!” Michael Hronis replies.

“So, do you know why I’m here?” asked the officer.

The body camera footage shows Michael Hronis shortly after he was caught sneaking into his former employer's building in search of his former boss.

“You ruined my life!” Michael is heard saying.

According to police, Michael was fired from lighting manufacturer TAMCO Group in July following a disagreement. On Monday, he returned to kill his former boss and two other employees.

“The suspect did not see his former boss and decided to leave. Fortunately, his former boss was not in his office and was working elsewhere in the building,” said Police Chief Richard Del Toro.

TAMCO employees called 911 and shortly thereafter, Port St. Lucie police found Michael at the Burger King on Village Parkway.

When police arrested him, they found a 9mm pistol, two magazines and additional ammunition in his trouser pockets, as well as a small urn filled with the ashes of his deceased parents.

Michael told police that his apartment had recently been evicted, that he did not have a car, and that he had been staying in a hotel for the past week but had been told to move out.

“His life is basically falling apart. He went there to get revenge on some people he blames for the collapse,” Del Toro said. “Although he left out the fact that his son also committed some pretty heinous acts that led to his life being in the situation it is in now.”

His son, 24-year-old Joshua Hronis, is also accused of attempted murder.

On August 16, police said Joshua got into a fight with two people at the Vybz Lounge on St. Lucie West Boulevard and later opened fire outside.

“We do not believe the victims in this case were involved in the altercation with the suspect at the Vybz Lounge. We believe this is a case of mistaken identity,” Del Toro said.

According to police, Joshua was arrested in Connecticut over the weekend.

Despite this series of events, Chief Del Toro says he is grateful that no one was killed.

“By the grace of God, by the grace of God. I know this could have been a very different situation,” Del Toro said.

Port St. Lucie police are awaiting Joshua's extradition.

Both the father and the son are accused of three counts of attempted murder.