Shooting in Englewood leaves 1 dead

Charlotte County deputies are investigating a homicide at a home in Englewood Monday.

The sheriff’s office said it responded just before 5 a.m. to a home on Turner Street.

They have not released any further details, but ask anyone with information to call (941) 639-0013 or anonymously via the CCSO mobile app.

Investigators spent the morning asking neighbors if they heard or saw anything, and when they showed up at Paul Dove’s door, he feared the worst.

“I was just wondering if something happened to somebody in my family or something, that’s what I was thinking about,” Dove said.

He told them he didn’t know anything about the homicide, as did neighbor Wendy Terpstra.

“It was about 7:45, and the dog was barking because of the police officer at the door,” Terpstra said. “Just asked me if I heard anything last night.”

The initial radio calls indicated that two people had been shot, but the sheriff’s office has only confirmed that one person died and the 911 call came from the home where the victim was found.

“I saw everything blocked off and the vehicles down the road there. It is a little upsetting because it’s such a quiet, safe neighborhood,” Terpstra said.

“It’s always concerning when you see police activity in your neighborhood, but it is important to understand that there is no threat to the community. This is a very isolated incident,” said Claudette Bennett, public information officer for CCSO.

When law enforcement agencies say “isolated incident” and “no threat to the community,” that typically means the victim was targeted.

Dove worries for his neighbor’s family.

“My prayers go out to them. That’s what most important part about today is that someone lost a loved one.”

Dove said he has lived in Englewood his whole life and he hopes this killing is an exception and not the start of a disturbing trend.