A man from Florida was recently apprehended after allegedly shooting himself in an attempt to gain sympathy from a female coworker who had rejected his advances. Alexander Lefort, 30, is facing charges of providing false information to a law enforcement officer during an investigation, tampering with evidence in a felony proceeding, and discharging a firearm in public, as per the records of the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office.
The incident took place in the early hours of March 21, 2024, as stated in a probable cause affidavit filed by the Cocoa Police Department. Officers were called to a FedEx location in Cocoa, a small town on Florida’s Atlantic coast, in response to reports of gunfire. Upon arrival, they found Lefort “lying on a couch” with a gunshot wound to his abdomen.
Lefort initially told police that he was shot by a man wearing a balaclava and a hoodie who then fled the scene. However, inconsistencies in his story raised suspicions. A coworker of Lefort’s at FedEx told a detective that Lefort had claimed the supposed assailant demanded money before shooting him, a detail he did not share with the responding officers.
According to the affidavit, Lefort told the first officers on the scene that he was cleaning up spilled soda in his car when the man appeared out of nowhere and shot him. Surveillance footage obtained by law enforcement showed Lefort arriving at the parking lot over two hours before his shift started, and no second person was visible in the video.
The location where Lefort parked his car also raised eyebrows. His vehicle was parked in the furthest part of the northwest parking lot, almost out of view of the surveillance cameras, despite the parking lot being only half full. Another FedEx employee told the detective that Lefort parking in that spot was unusual, but not unheard of. The coworker speculated that Lefort used that spot to observe a female coworker.
Lefort was arrested and charged with stalking in a separate case involving the same female coworker about a month after the shooting. When questioned about the stalking allegation, Lefort allegedly gave evasive answers. The affidavit also states that Lefort was inconsistent and gave conflicting details about the shooting.
Physical evidence also supported the theory that Lefort shot himself. A few days after the shooting, police found a Sig Sauer 9mm pistol in the driver’s side front door compartment of Lefort’s vehicle. The gun was registered to Lefort, and a spent 9mm cartridge case recovered from the scene was confirmed to have been fired from his gun.
Based on the evidence and statements collected, the detective concluded that Lefort intentionally shot himself in an attempt to gain sympathy from his coworker, who had cut off all communication with him after accusing him of harassment. Lefort was arrested on April 9 and later released on a $4,000 bond.