BREAKING NEWS Know your zone: Evacuation zones ahead of Milton

Shooting investigation at Lehigh Acres parking lot near Publix

Published: Updated:
CREDIT: WINK News

Lee County Sheriff’s Office deputies are investigating a shooting with injuries outside a Publix in Lehigh Acres.

According to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, a 33-year-old victim was shot and is getting treated at a hospital.

A person of interest has been detained at a different scene on Jersey Road, not too far from where the shooting happened.

The Lee County School District confirmed Sunshine Elementary School has been put on lockdown and G. Weaver Hipps Elementary School was placed on lockout, where people are not being allowed to leave or enter, for the time being, Monday morning. 

Deputies were sighted outside the Publix at 1324 Homestead Road North, since around 10:30 a.m., and a crime scene could be seen in the parking lot.

Some people couldn’t get to their cars. One was shopper Wayne Minnich, who said he had just pulled into the parking lot right before Lee County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrived.

“I saw an open spot and pulled in. When I got out, there was a guy laying on the ground two spaces away. He was struggling. He had no shirt on,” Minnich said.

He said he parked next to a man lying on the ground, so he had to stay in his car until the victim got some help and was taken to the hospital.

“There was a paramedic there trying to help him, so I lean down in, but before I got out of my vehicle, cop cars arrived in all directions and with their guns drawn and motioned me to stay in my vehicle, so I did for a few minutes. Then I got out when they went away and went in the store and when I got back the tape was up, and I couldn’t leave,” Minnich said.

During the incident, Michelle Gronroos was working at the nearby 3 Pepper Burrito Company. She said the victim was shot twice in the head.

“A man was shot twice in the head following a dispute that started in the Publix, and it carried out from Publix into the parking lot. So, I’m not sure I just saw the ambulance take off with the man, and I heard that he was alive, as you know, at the time,” Gronroos said.

She said some businesses went on lockdown and others decided to close for the day.

A viewer, Charlene Cruz, sent a video of the scene. You can watch it below.

In the video, someone mentions that someone was taken “to Gulf Coast.”

Stay tuned to WINKNews.com, WINK News App, streaming, and on air for any new developments on this story.

Copyright ©2024 Fort Myers Broadcasting. All rights reserved.

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without prior written consent.