LEALMAN, Fla. (AP) — Authorities say the former Tampa Bay-area middle school principal charged in a rampage that left two dead and nine others injured was under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time.
The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office reported that 45-year-old Anthony Giancola was taken into custody Friday afternoon and charged hours later with two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted first-degree murder.
Giancola lost his job after a drug arrest five years ago, and told reporters then that he needed to "get my life together."
On Friday, authorities said, he stabbed several people at a group home for the hearing impaired — killing at least two. He then allegedly drove his car into a crowded porch and brutally attacked a couple who ran a nearby motel.
