3-year-old among 2 killed in Lakeland shooting: Police
LAKELAND, Fla. - Two people, including a three-year-old child, were killed and another was injured in a Lakeland shooting Monday night, according to police.
The Lakeland Police Department said officers arrived at the scene in the area of 1850 Cambridge Cove Circle a little after 6:30 p.m. after reports of the shooting. Police said two people were found shot, including a 3-year-old child who died at the scene.
Courtesy: Baez family
Lakeland Police Chief Sam Taylor said during a Tuesday news conference that a 23-year-old man and 21-year-old woman were at Cambridge Cove to visit a friend. While trying to leave the complex in their Toyota Rav 4 with two children, a Dodge Challenger blocked their path.
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The Rav 4 was traveling with a 3-month-old baby and a 3-year-old child. A man, later identified as Kemarius Wilson, 22, got out of the passenger side of the Dodge Challenger with a handgun and approached the Rav 4.
An unidentified man also got out of the driver's side of the Challenger with a rifle and approached the other side of the vehicle. The man in the Rav 4 was also armed with a handgun and a rifle.
Police said words were exchanged and gunshots followed. The woman fled the Rav 4 with the three-month-old, and the two men driving in the Challenger fled the scene. The woman and the baby were uninjured, officers said.
The 23-year-old man in the Rav 4 was taken to Lakeland Regional Health with non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
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The Challenger then drove to the 800 block of West 14th Street to a relative of Wilson's, where he was then taken by private vehicle to the hospital, where he died. That Dodge was later located in the 800 block of West Crawford Street, being concealed with a black covering. Police seized the vehicle when they found it.
The white Dodge Challenger
Investigators said they have seized multiple cell phones and are canvassing multiple locations for surveillance footage. So far, 19 spent casings from a .223 caliber gun and nine 9mm spent casings were found at the incident scene.
Lakeland Police are searching for the unidentified man who had been driving the Challenger and are offering a $5,000 reward for his capture. Officials said it does appear that the parties involved in the shooting knew each other, but they haven't determined the reason for the conflict.
Anyone with information on the identity or location of the driver is asked to contact Detective Corey Lawson with the Lakeland Police Department by emailing cory.lawson@lakelandgov.net or by calling (863) 834-8975.
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