Port St. Lucie - Thursday December 14, 2023: Port St Lucie Police (PSLPD) are investigating a shooting that occurred in the City's Tradition neighborhood Wednesday morning.
A 27 year old man was shot three times and airlifted to Lawnwood hospital. He has since been treated and released, according to a news release from PSLPD PIO Senior Sgt. Dominick Mesiti. The name of the injured man has not been released, but he "was not a local rap star as speculated on social media," states the release.
PSL Police got a call at 6:57 a.m. from someone reporting a shooting in the 11300 block of SW Stockton Place.
The victim was not found at that location however. When patrol units arrived they found him a short distance away in the 11400 block of SW Kingslake Circle.
Investigators say the victim was in his driveway on SW Stockton Place when a gunman approached on foot and fired multiple rounds. The victim was able to run from the scene and made it to SW Kingslake Circle where police eventually found him, even though he'd been shot 3 times.
The gunman fled in a blue 2018 Kia Optima, which was captured on video surveillance. It appears that he was able to enter the gated community by driving around the front gate onto the grass.
PSLPD issued a BOLO (Be On the Look Out) for the suspect vehicle and Wednesday night Broward County Sheriff deputies found the suspect vehicle in Ft. Lauderdale and detained 3 occupants. Two of them were charged by Broward County on unrelated charges. Its not clear yet who, if any of the occupants, were involved in the shooting in Tradition.
At this point police say that the evidence indicates that this was a targeted shooting, and not a random act of violence.
PSLPD will have an increased presence in the area, but they say there is no immediate threat to the surrounding community.