Law enforcement officials Monday detained five individuals suspected of involvement in a shooting that transpired Sunday evening in Gainesville and injured at least one person.
The victim sustained a non-life-threatening gunshot wound and was treated at an area hospital, said Lt. J.P. Hood of the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO).
However, none of those detained – four adult males and a juvenile male – had been arrested as of 12:30 p.m. Monday, Hood said.
“They’re going to be questioned in relation to the crimes that we possibly have that were committed now and in relation to the shooting that occurred last night, and we’ll determine from there whether they’ll be arrested or not,” he said.
At least one man was seen at the apartment complex wearing handcuffs as he spoke to deputies.
Monday’s incident transpired just before noon in the Chelsea Lane Apartments parking lot (3555 SW 20th Ave.). Multiple officers and deputies surrounded an SUV with their weapons drawn and attracted several gawkers in person and online.
“Cops everywhere, guns drawn,” a Ring security app user posted online. “Anyone knows (what’s) going on?”
The vehicle – a white Jeep Cherokee – matched the description of an SUV videotaped at the scene of Sunday’s shooting at Majestic Oaks Apartments, so deputies pursued it and tossed three “stop sticks” in its path, deflating two of the tires, Hood said. Majestic Oaks is also located at 5800 SW 20th Ave., approximately 2 miles from Chelsea Lane.
“Knowing that this had the potential to become a pursuit, we had deputies in place with stop sticks to prevent it from becoming a pursuit, and pretty much simultaneously as we lit the vehicle up to stop it, they stop sticked it,” Hood said. “About the same time, the (vehicle occupants) threw some items out of the car.”
It’s possible the discarded items could be narcotics, he added.
“There are potentially some other charges that I am not exactly sure of right now, but we do potentially have some other charges, and we’re waiting to get a search warrant on the vehicle,” Hood said.
An EMS vehicle transported one of the people detained to an area hospital because he was experiencing breathing problems possibly related to asthma, but a deputy remained with him, Hood said.
The Gainesville Police Department assisted ACSO at the scene Monday.
Editor’s note: This story will be updated as information becomes available.