Immokalee’s drive-by shooter on the loose since Friday

A juvenile was shot in the back after a drive-by shooting left bullet casings blanketing the road in Immokalee on Friday.

The victim was in a car driving by rather than being at the scene on Justice Circle in Immokalee.

A Collier County deputy said the victim was flagged down by other people in the car to get their friend the medical attention he needed.

WINK News tried talking with neighbors but nobody wanted to talk on camera, fearing retaliatory actions. The fear persists despite deputies saying there is no threat to the public after the shooting.

WINK News spoke with Dr. David Thomas, a former police officer and a forensic studies professor at FGCU, to understand how deputies can be sure of that.

“It’s not it’s not unusual. I mean, if you have a drive-by, it’s really not that unusual,” Dr. Thomas said.

Dr. Thomas said even though deputies called it a drive-by shooting, the shots weren’t random across the neighborhood.

“You have to look at it as being targeted violence, meaning that that focus is on that one individual, or maybe if there’s a crowd standing outside or crowd of individuals,” Dr. Thomas said.

According to the incident report, deputies explained how they were flagged down by a group in a red four-door Honda. There were bullet holes in the car’s fender and the back window was shot out.

When the victim was shot in the back, deputies called for EMS and the victim was transported by helicopter to Gulf Coast Medical Center.

But for the neighbors along Justice Crl., Dr. Thomas said in time justice will come.

“You got to give them some time, you know, and to narrow it down,” Dr. Thomas said. “And the other parts of this, what was the other thing that I’ve learned is that victims don’t often discuss or refuse to talk about why they were shot, and who shot them?”

Deputies have not made any arrests for the shooting but did arrest one person in the red Honda for possession of marijuana and paraphernalia.

The sheriff’s office said this is an active and ongoing investigation.