Nurse repeatedly hit in head with tire iron by man outside Florida hospital, cops say

A nurse trying to take her break in a hospital parking lot in Florida was “blitz-attacked” by a man swinging a tire iron, according to the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office.

She survived but suffered severe injuries, the sheriff’s office said in a news release.

It happened around 3 a.m. on Thursday, July 6, outside HCA Fort Walton Beach-Destin Hospital in Fort Walton Beach, officials said. Fort Walton Beach is about 40 miles east of Pensacola in Florida’s Panhandle.

“A nurse taking a work break near an employee parking lot ... was blitz-attacked by a man with a tire iron,” the sheriff’s office reported.

“The nurse was able to fight off (the man), but not before being struck five or six times in the head, causing severe lacerations and swelling.”

Investigators say the nurse provided “a good description of her attacker,” leading them to a 27-year-old Fort Walton Beach man riding a bike not far from the hospital.

“A bloody tire iron was in the bicycle basket and (his) shirt had a fresh blood stain on the front,” officials said.

The suspect, identified Raul Milla Jr., was charged “with attempted felony murder,” officials said. A motive for the attack was not released.

Milla lives at a home about 1.5 miles south of the hospital, jail records show.

This story was originally published July 6, 2023 at 3:15 PM with the headline "Nurse repeatedly hit in head with tire iron by man outside Florida hospital, cops say."