A woman is suffering from life-threatening injuries after a shootout involving two groups of people on Tuesday near Green Apple Liquor.
Since Saturday, officers have been searching for two suspects in connection with the incident.
Gainesville Police Department responded to reports of multiple shots fired at the intersection of Northeast 16th Avenue and Northeast Waldo Road around 3:30 p.m., a GPD release read. As of Oct. 15, two suspects have been identified.
Warrants were issued Friday to arrest Gainesville residents Montrell Carter, 19, and Orion Davis, 17. GPD is asking residents for help locating the suspects.
As of Friday, GPD is not aware of why the incident occurred or who else was involved, GPD , GPD spokesperson Graham Glover said. The woman woman is still suffering from gunshot wounds but is in stable condition at UF Health Shands Hospital.
Darren Roark, a 35-year-old Gainesville resident, heard about 12 gunshots go off on his walk back to his car near Walmart.
He had stopped by Green Apple Liquor to fill up his gas tank. When he heard the shots, he said he rushed to his car. In a video he took on his phone, he was driving around the scene as he watched police cars rush to the liquor store and barricade the area.
The next day, he found out that an innocent bystander was shot.
“I was literally just at the gas station,” he said. “It could have been me.”
Carter is charged with possessing a firearm as an adjudicated delinquent, court records read. This year, he was also charged with aggravated assault, robbery with a firearm, operating a motor vehicle without a valid license and possessing marijuana. Last year, he was charged with burglary, resisting arrest and tampering with evidence.
Davis was charged with operating a motor vehicle without a valid license and exceeding the speed limit in 2017, court records read.
Gun violence has increased in Gainesville since the beginning of the pandemic, with numbers passing the city’s highest reports of 53 gunshot injuries or deaths in 2020. A Gainesville man died from gunshot wounds Oct. 11 at an unauthorized party in the city of Alachua’s Copeland Park.
“As information continues to come in, we continue to push it to the public,” Glover said. “We appreciate everyone who has helped out so far.”
GPD is asking anyone who has information regarding the shooting to contact 352-393-7611. For anonymity, contact Crime Stoppers at 352-372-7867.
Contact Isabella at idouglas@alligator.org. Follow her on Twitter @Ad_Scribendum.
Isabella Douglas is a fourth-year journalism major and the Fall 2023 editor-in-chief for The Alligator. She has previously worked as the digital managing editor, metro editor, criminal justice reporter and as a news assistant. When she isn't reporting, she can be found reorganizing her bookshelf and adding books to her ever-growing TBR.
