Two Florida PE teachers are facing charges after shooting a man after entering his apartment accidentally.
The bizarre shooting took place in the early hours of October 10th after 26-year-old Darius Tyonne Cohen and 26-year-old Akkua Jamel Hallback ended a night out on the town in Vero Beach. The men went to the Preserves of Oslo Apartments, where Hallback visited a woman he’d met earlier in the night. After a few hours, Hallback returned to his vehicle where Cohen was waiting. Cohen stated that he had to use the restroom, so Hallback walked him back to the apartment building to go back inside the woman’s home. However, the two men entered the wrong unit. While Cohen used the bathroom, Hallback got into the bed he thought belonged to the woman. Instead, a man and his child were there.
After the man awoke and demanded to know why Hallback and Cohen were in his home, Hallback confessed that he had the wrong apartment, and the man asked them to leave. As all three men walked outside, the resident still pressed the teachers about why they came to his apartment. Hallback disappeared for a short time, and when he returned, he found Cohen and the resident fighting. He broke up the two before Cohen retrieved a handgun and shot the victim as he tried to run away. The victim ran to a neighbor’s apartment to seek help.
Cohen admitted that he shot the victim as he was trying to get away from him. He now faces attempted murder charges and is being held on a $750,000 bond. Hallback was charged with possession of a controlled substance. He is free on a $15,000 bail.
The Indian River County School District revealed that both men were still in their 90-day employment probation period but had passed proper background checks to be hired. Cohen taught at Indian River Academy, while Hallback taught at Sebastian Elementary. Both men have since been fired.
