A death reported at Pinellas County's Safe Harbor homeless shelter

The Pinellas Medical Examiner will determine cause of death, but deputies said there was no evidence of foul play.


The news is just being released this afternoon as officials were reportedly waiting to confirm McMullen's identity after members of his family were found and notified in Indiana.


Pinellas Safe Harbor was opened in January, and houses approximately 350-400 people a night. (CL's Arielle Stevenson wrote a report about the facility back in March).


Last month the St. Petersburg Times reported that crime and medical costs for Largo have gone up dramatically since the homeless facility was opened.


In that same story, Largo Mayor Pat Gerard, who said she'd rather send homeless people to Safe Harbor than jail them, also warned, "I have real concerns about the program," she said. "Putting 400 or 500 drunk people under one roof ... I think we're lucky nobody's gotten hurt out there."


Unfortunately, somebody has, though the reasons for that have yet to be determined.

Tuesday afternoon the Pinellas County Sheriff's office reported that a 46-year-old man who had only begun staying at Safe Harbor, the facility for the homeless near Largo, was found dead on Saturday morning

Officials say Kevin McMullen, who had been registered at Safe Harbor only since August 18, was found to be "unresponsive" in the outdoor courtyard this past Saturday morning. When he didn't awake , Safe Harbor staff members were summoned. Staff members then administered CPR until paramedics arrived, Further attempts to revive McMullen were unsuccessful, and he was pronounced dead at 8:30 a.m.

In a statement, Pinellas Sheriff officials say the night before, McMullen was "acting out and disruptive" in the male indoor courtyard housing unit. That's when Safe Harbor officials (per their rules) "escorted" him to the outdoor courtyard to sleep. Needless to say it was a warm and humid night last Friday night.

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