Fort Pierce - Tuesday January 17, 2023: One person is dead and 7 others injured following a shooting late Monday afternoon during the annual 772 MLK Car Show and Family Fun Day at Ilous Ellis Park in Ft. Pierce.
A 30 year old Fort Pierce woman died from her wounds Tuesday morning at Longwood Hospital. She was at Ilous Ellis Park with her 6 year old daughter when she was shot, said Sheriff Ken Mascara.
St. Lucie County Sheriff Deputies responded to a report of shots fired near Ave. M and 13th Street at 5:20 p.m.
"At this time the evidence supports that this shooting was the result of a dispute between two rival Fort Pierce gangs," said Chief Deputy Brian Hester. "Over 50 shell cases were recovered from the scene from three different calibers of weapons."
There were roughly 1,000 people in the park at the time and the gunfire sparked panic as people began to flee the scene. In addition to the gunshot victims, four others were injured in the rush to leave the scene of the shooting.
“Chief Deputy Hester and I were honored to be in the Martin Luther King Jr. parade along Martin Luther King Blvd.," said Sheriff Mascara.. "Sadly, within hours of that parade ending, we (were) investigating a shooting in a county park," and "what was a shooting investigation has turned into a murder investigation," said SLC Sheriff Ken Mascara.
No arrests have been made yet. The SLC Sheriff's Office is asking anyone with any information related to the incident to contact detectives or call Treasure Coast Crime Stoppers at 1-800-273-8477.
"We want our community to play a role in solving this horrendous event," said Sheriff Mascara.
