Trooper-involved shooting injures one person along I-75 in Collier County

WINK News is still working to determine what caused one person to be transported to the hospital after a shooting on I-75.

This happened on Sunday morning along I-75, near mile marker 103 in Collier County.

Florida Highway Patrol says one of its troopers answered a call for service. But, we still aren’t sure what caused that trooper to fire their weapon.

WINK News Safety and Security Specialist Rich Kolko explains the scenario. “Initiating a traffic stop is one of the most dangerous things any officer can do. They don’t know what they’re walking into,” said Kolko.

WINK News reporter Dannielle Garcia spent the day asking authorities why the trooper fired, who was in the car, why that car was parked in the median for so long, and why no arrests have been made?

Since law enforcement was not answering these questions, Garcia turned to Kolko. He is a retired FBI agent. “This is one of those cases where investigators are fortunate to have time they have the person of interest, know who that person is, they’ve got a vehicle that they need to check, they can do additional information, additional investigation, search for witnesses,” said Kolko.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement, FDLE, said FHP asked them to take over the trooper-involved shooting investigation. That trooper is also on administrative leave for now, which is standard in these cases.

“Now they have time to gather information, the person that the interacted with the trooper is in medical treatment. So if there is going to be an arrest,” Kolko said. “The investigation will continue to collect the evidence, do the interviews, and talk to the state’s attorney to make sure that the troopers of ducks in a row before they actually carry out an arrest.”

FHP confirmed that the person who was shot is being treated for their injuries. The trooper was not injured in this shooting.

Collier County EMS told WINK that the person shot is currently at Lee Memorial Hospital. They are being treated for multiple gunshot wounds.