Police Respond To Lemon Avenue Shooting

Police continue to investigate a Lemon Avenue shooting Thursday night that damaged a vehicle.

At 6:35 p.m., Sebring Police officers patrolling along Grapefruit Street reported hearing four gunshots coming from the area of Martin Luther King Boulevard and Lemon Street, according to the incident report.

The officers spoke with someone who said they saw a black SUV speed away from the area toward School Street. Police eventually saw the vehicle heading westbound when they drove to E.O. Douglas and School Street. The SUV stopped just past the patrol car and the driver got out and said someone shot at him.

The man told police he stopped his vehicle just east of the Montego Club and was talking to a friend when he saw several other men running in different directions. Several gun shots were heard and the man thought one of the bullets could have hit his SUV, the report stated.

While talking to the man, one of the officers saw a bullet hole in the driver's side door. Police went back to where the shooting took place. Six shell casings were found lying on Lemon Avenue near the Montego Club.

As police canvassed the area, a person who wished to remain anonymous said the shooter had gotten out of a white car with "fancy rims and dark-tinted windows," the report stated. The vehicle was later found in Avon Park.

The owner of the car told police he had lent it to a friend earlier in the day and knew that it had been involved in the shooting. The owner gave permission to search it and no evidence related to the crime was found.

SPD Officer Ryan Magnuson took the report.