LAKELAND, FLORIDA (AP) – Ten people were injured during a drive-by shooting in a central Florida neighbourhood, police said.
Lakeland Police Chief Sam Taylor said during a news conference that two of the victims were critically injured on Monday, while the wounds of the other eight weren’t considered life-threatening. The victims were males between the ages of 20 and 35.
Lakeland is located about 50 kilometres east of Tampa.
“I’ve been here 34 years, and I have never worked an event where this many people were shot at one time, ever,” Taylor said.
A crowd of people were gathered along a residential street when a dark-blue sedan rolled by, slowing but not stopping, police said. Four people fired shots from the sedan’s windows before the car sped away, Taylor said.
Officers were searching for the vehicle and the shooters on Monday night, officials said.
Taylor said investigators believe the shooting was a targetted attack. Investigators believe drug sales were taking place.
Taylor described the neighborhood as “challenged” and said the police had focussed a lot of attention on the area in recent years.
