LCPD arrests Holiday man involved in shooting altercation

Lake City Police officers arrested a man from Holiday visiting friends in Lake City who got into an altercation with a victim Tuesday morning and shot into a vehicle with three people inside.  

According to a Lake City Police Department (LCPD) release, officers responded to a 5:45 a.m. dispatch on Tuesday at 3598 W. US Highway 90 at the Baymont Inn to the report of an armed and dangerous person.

When officers arrived, they spoke to two victims who said a white male wearing an orange shirt had a firearm and shot multiple times into a dark-colored vehicle as it was leaving the parking lot. The vehicle drove to LCPD to report the incident and none of the three occupants inside the vehicle were injured.

The investigation revealed that Thomas William Peters III, 48, of Holiday, Florida was visiting friends in Lake City when he became involved in a dispute on social media with one of the victims in the vehicle. Peter and the victim decided to meet in the Baymont Inn parking lot to fight and settle their differences. The two met and fought, with Peters losing the fight. Peters returned to his rented room to retrieve a firearm and then looked for the individual he had fought.

Peters encountered two bystanders who were walking to their vehicle and pointed his firearm at them until he realized they were not the person he was looking for.

The suspect then located the subject he had fought who was now with two other people. All three entered a car and as the driver reversed the vehicle out of the parking spot, Peters stepped in front of the car and started shooting into the vehicle.

Officers found Peters at the Baymont Inn and he was arrested without incident and transported to the Columbia County Detention Center where he is being held without bond.

Anyone with information regarding the incident is asked to contact the LCPD at 386-752-4343.