1 dead in shooting at Circle K; car stopped on I-75 in Lee County

Reporter: Justin Kase Writer: Jack Lowenstein
Published: Updated:
Lee County deputies respond to a deadly shooting outside a Circle K gas station on Orange River Blvd. in Lee County, where one person was killed Wednesday, Sept. 1. Credit: Lee County Sheriff’s Office.

A Cadillac is the only apparent link between two crime scenes that spanned eight miles.

Lee County Sheriff’s Office responded to a deadly shooting at a Circle K gas station just west of Buckingham Wednesday.

According to the LCSO tweet, deputies responded to the gas station on Orange River Boulevard around 5:05 p.m.

Minutes later, investigators surrounded a Cadillac in southbound lanes of I-75, demanding people get out of the car. Investigators were at the scene of the shooting for several hours. They interviewed witnesses, laid down evidence markers and took pictures of the scene.

Witnesses told they saw the suspect Cadillac speed away from the gas station, and witness Ray Kozlowski was near the gas station when the shooting happened.

“I was starting to walk down, and then, I started hearing it,” Ray Kozlowski said. “I didn’t know if I should turn around and go back.”

Kozlowski says he heard at least five gunshots. As he got closer to the scene at Palm Lane and Orange River Blvd., he saw a man on the ground.

“He was laying there, just laying there,” Kozlowski said. “And then, the EMS came, and they did their thing. I seen them trying to revive him.”

WINK News Meteorologist Dylan Federico was driving on I-75 when deputies swarmed the interstate, surrounding the suspect vehicle.

“There was this white Cadillac, and then, here come the cops,” Federico said. “And then, the car stops, and then, all the cops swarm the vehicle.”

Florida Highway Patrol troopers told us this is related to a shooting investigation.

“You could hear them yell like, ‘Put your hands up,’ that kind of stuff,’” Federico said. “And then, here come the K-9 dogs and all of that.”

We are working to confirm how the scenes are connected at this time.

Lee County deputies told us that all parties related to the deadly shooting investigation are accounted for.

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