11 people were injured in Shooting in Lakeland, Florida
Two of the eleven victims in Monday’s drive-by shooting in Lakeland, Florida are in serious condition, authorities said.
Authorities first said 10 people were hurt in the shooting, but during a press conference on Tuesday morning, they said 11. This was because one more person had been admitted to a nearby hospital after being injured in the shooting. According to the most recent information provided by the Lakeland Police Department, the shooter(s) were still at large.
At a press conference on Monday night, Lakeland Police Chief Sam Taylor revealed that detectives had concluded that the shooting was not random but rather targeted. Taylor stated that at around 3:45 p.m., a slow-moving four-door Nissan opened fire from all four windows. The vehicle had temporary tags and was reported as having a dark blue colour with tinted windows.
According to the police chief, by Tuesday morning, detectives had found a Nissan matching the description of the car used in the drive-by shooting in West Lakeland. According to Taylor, “at least two of them were actively involved in the shooting.” They suspect four people were in the automobile. There may be more, though, as Taylor pointed out.
Although more tests are being conducted to confirm the match, police have a “high level of confidence” that the car discovered earlier on Tuesday is the one observed fleeing the site of the shooting on Monday.
Taylor added, “We do not have anyone in custody yet, however I will tell you that detectives worked throughout the night to identify suspects, and we have some … I’ll classify as very promising leads, very promising information, And we are actively pursuing those leads right now, as we speak.”
At a press conference on Tuesday, the Lakeland police chief said that investigators had identified more than one probable suspect, and that these persons are from Polk County, but not from Lakeland, but could only provide basic details about the leads presently being explored. Polk County includes Lakeland, although it is far larger than the city itself, covering around 1,800 square miles of territory. About an hour’s drive east of Tampa Bay sits Lakeland.