In the quiet coastal city of Sarasota, Florida, a tragic event unfolded on February 10, 2026, claiming the life of 61-year-old Anatoly Ioffe. What began as a day like any other ended in a multi-location shooting spree that left several people dead and a community in shock.
The violence was not confined to a single address. Authorities discovered victims in both Sarasota and Fort Lauderdale, connecting the separate scenes to a single suspect, Russell Kot.
In Sarasota, alongside Anatoly Ioffe, several other individuals lost their lives. They were identified as Florita Stolyar, age 66, Larisa Blyudaya, age 46, Olga Greinert, age 49, and Yaroslav "Stan" Blyudoy, age 39. The grim discovery in Fort Lauderdale added another victim to the tragic toll, 18-year-old Ben Azivov.
Investigators quickly pieced together the horrific events, identifying 51-year-old Russell Kot as the perpetrator of the widespread violence. After carrying out the shootings, Kot reportedly turned the gun on himself, ending his own life. With the suspect deceased, the immediate threat to the community was over, but the questions and grief were just beginning. While the motive for the killings was not immediately clear, initial reports suggested the incident may have been domestic in nature, involving family members.
The investigation into the devastating murder-suicide continued as law enforcement worked to understand the connections between the victims and the shooter, and what led to such a violent outburst across two Florida cities. The communities of Sarasota and Fort Lauderdale were left to mourn the senseless loss of life and grapple with the tragedy that had so suddenly and violently impacted them.
