New Details Revealed in Investigation of Freak Accident That Killed 27-Year-Old Green Beret (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

From left: Sgt. Tommy Lazzaro and his sister, Lexie.Photo:Tom Lazzaro

Tom Lazzaro

Nearly two months have passed sinceSgt. Tommy Lazzaro, a Green Beret, was fatally shot not far from his base near Destin, Fla., and authorities say there is still much about the case they cannot confirm.

Not while the investigation remains “very active.”

Everything they’ve learned so far, state officials tell PEOPLE, indicates Lazzaro died in a freak shooting accident on the afternoon of Dec. 22 while en route to help his girlfriend’s brother out of a jam.

But investigators with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission are still digging — though about what, they will not say.

“We are examining all factors,” says Officer Chris Boley, a spokesman with the commission.

Boley says the shooter, whom other officials have described as a local of Walton County, Fla., and not a soldier, was questioned and “fully cooperated” with FWC but will not be publicly identified while the case is open.

Boley declined to answer other questions from PEOPLE and said a final report would be issued at some point.

“There’s still an investigation. I haven’t been privy to any of the results,” Tom Lazzaro, Tommy’s father, told PEOPLE in a recent interviewabout his son’s life and legacy. “And as far as I know, it was a stray bullet from another hunting party …. that’s all I know right now.”

The land around Eglin Air Force Base outside Destin, Fla.Getty

Getty

Tommy was a 27-year-old weapons sergeant and former college quarterback from Colorado less than one year into his service with the 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) at Eglin.

On Dec. 22, he was asked to go help girlfriend Kaley Lynch’s brother, another active-duty Green Beret, who was hunting on the expansive public land around Eglin and got stuck.

Those roads around the base, such as they are, can be sandy and wild, difficult to traverse. So Tommy took his truck to help.

His girlfriend’s brother and two friends appear to be the first ones to have found him after lunchtime that December day, still sitting in his truck in the open clearings that follow the power lines.

They were also the first ones to call 911 after they noticed a bullet had pierced his driver’s side door.

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Sgt. Tommy Lazzaro in college.Gregory Shamus/Getty

Gregory Shamus/Getty

In the 911 calls, the friends talk about trying to bust through the window of his truck to give him CPR; they later put a tourniquet on him, one of them said.

As they were tending to him (“Come on Tommy … come on,” one of the friends says during the calls), they noticed an older couple dressed as hunters who came to the scene but quickly left. One of the friends asked the dispatcher to take down the couple’s license plate.

The friend also noted to the dispatcher that there was a large group of hunters not far away: about 10 or 15 trucks lined up along the road, in roughly the same path of Tommy’s vehicle.

Other details about these people and whether they were involved have not been released. No one has been accused of a crime.

Tommy likely fell unconscious and died within minutes after being shot. He did not have time to call for help.

He had planned to meet his sister and parents later that day; they were coming into town to celebrate Christmas with him. It was his girlfriend’s birthday.

“It’s heartbreaking. … This is the first time I’ve ever heard this in the 10 years I’ve been here,” says Corey Dobridnia, a spokeswoman with the Walton County sheriff, who assisted with initial parts of the investigation.

“He went out there to do his friends a favor, he was being a good guy,” Dobridnia says.

Sgt. Tommy Lazzaro’s military memorial on Jan. 31 in Florida.Sergeant Hunter Garcia

Sergeant Hunter Garcia

“It’s a very tight community, [his death is] going to be felt all across the Army,” Connelly says.

Both he and Dobridnia say such incidents are exceedingly rare. While the state’s wildlife commission continues to investigate, it remains unclear what other factors may have contributed to the shooting.

An Eglin spokeswoman says that officials there also plan to review the full findings from the investigation before making any changes to the hunting land on the base that they oversee, including the range where Tommy was during the shooting.

In a statement, the commander of the 7th, Col. Patrick Nelson, said: “We will never forget his dedication, courage, and commitment to safeguarding our freedoms.”

source: people.com