Friends and family of Palm Beach Blvd shooting victim fearful, suspects on the run

Two accused shooters are on the run as a man fights for his life after the shooting on Palm Beach Boulevard on Saturday.

Fort Myers police say they are hopeful that the man who was shot and is in critical condition will be OK. It has been more than two days since the shooting and he’s still hanging in.

Family and friends of the victim don’t want his name or face shared because they fear his safety.

WINK News can show you the photos of the suspects that police have released. Police say the men opened fire at a shopping center near the intersection of Palm Beach and Veronica Shoemaker boulevards early Saturday morning.

Fort Myers police hope someone might know these two men.

Detectives say they are also searching for the suspect’s car which is described as a white Honda Accord.

“Officers arrived on scene, and they found the victim, a male victim on the ground suffering from gunshot wounds,” said Officer Kristin Capuzzi, with the Fort Myers Police Department.

Capuzzi said the victim survived a shootout at the Kwik Stop food stores plaza. Detectives say there were as many as 15 shots fired.

According to Capuzzi, the victim and the shooters likely did not know each other.

Police are not releasing the victim’s name, but WINK News spoke to a man who said he is a longtime friend of the victim. He asked that we not use his name because he thinks he could be targeted next.

“They can do the same thing to any other guys on the other person,” said the victim’s friend.

The friend also said he thinks there is no reason for the shooting.

Capuzzi said detectives believe the shooting is isolated, but their investigation continues.

“It’s senseless gun violence, and we’d like to get these guys off the streets,” said Capuzzi.

Trish Routte, with Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers, also has no clue why it happened but said nine times out of 10 the motive is not random.

“There’s something that’s leading up to it, you know, maybe somebody had had some kind of beef with somebody else, you know, the fact that they’re meeting up in a parking lot, you know, the bars close at two, so maybe they ended up there shortly thereafter,” said Routte.

“There are people out here local that know who these people are. And again, we just want to keep our neighborhoods safe. So, you know, if you don’t want to call us here at the Fort Myers Police Department, you know, call crime stoppers,” said Capuzzi.

If you recognize either of the suspects or have any information about the shooting, you can to call Fort Myers police at 239-321-7700 or Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers at 1-800-780-TIPS(8477).