1 dead, 2 injured following exchange of gunfire outside Poinciana home: sheriff

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Polk County sheriff's deputies investigate a deadly shooting on Sawfish Drive in Poinciana, Florida, Feb. 23, 2023. [Credit: Polk County Sheriff's Office]

POINCIANCA, Fla. - One person has died, and two others are critically injured, in what the Polk County Sheriff's Office is calling an exchange of gunfire during an altercation outside a home on Sawfish Drive in Poinciana early Thursday evening.

During a news conference, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said the shootings may be connected to an incident that happened days earlier, but he added that the details are "as clear as mud" and remain under investigation.

"On Sunday, our one victim who lives in this community was entertaining friends when one of the friends took a firearm from him, subsequently beat him up, and stole that firearm, as well as another firearm and a television," Sheriff Judd explained. "That's not really ‘good friends,’" he added.

The victim did not report the alleged attack on Sunday, but the following day, he went to the hospital and was feeling "sick" and "dizzy," the sheriff said. It was then that the victim reported the alleged beating that was said to have happened the day before.

Detectives said they tracked the suspect in the alleged attack to the Haines City area, where he was arrested after providing some resistance to law enforcement officers. The suspect, who was not named, was jailed on Monday and charged with home invasion, burglary, resisting arrest, and possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon.

Sheriff Judd said the victim from Sunday's alleged attack returned home and had another gathering of friends on Thursday, during which time an altercation occurred that resulted in the shootings. According to Judd, one man fired into a vehicle and the bullets struck two occupants – a man and a woman – presumably known to the man who fired into the car. The man who fired the shots into the car was also shot in an exchange of gunfire, the sheriff said.

The man and woman were transported to an area hospital where they remain in critical condition. Sheriff Judd said the man who fired into the car, whom he referred to as "suspect one," died from his injuries at the scene.

Polk County sheriff's deputies investigate a deadly shooting on Sawfish Drive in Poinciana, Florida, Feb. 23, 2023. [Credit: Polk County Sheriff's Office]

"It will take us a while to unravel this event," Sheriff Judd said. "We don't know at this point if this is a loose group of friends that happened to be in a gang and this is a fuss over a girl, or if it's retaliation for reporting the burglary and the theft of the firearms on Sunday… all of that's under investigation."

Sheriff Judd said the man and the woman have life-threatening injuries.

"We've got one person dead, and it appears he is the primary shooter. We've got two people critically injured – we don't know if they're going to survive. They both suffered head shots," the sheriff explained, "and then someone else at some point in time shot 'suspect one.'"

The sheriff did not say if any arrests had been made in the shooting incident. The identities of the deceased and two who were injured were not immediately released.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Polk County Sheriff's Office or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-226-TIPS (8477).