Eustis PD investigating shooting incident after teen shot in the face
EUSTIS — Police are investigating the shooting of a teenager Saturday after he was shot in the face at Sunset Island Skatepark.
They are not releasing the name of the 17-year-old, who was taken to a hospital.
“He is cooperating,” said Chief Craig Capri. Investigators will talk to him more once he recovers from his surgery.
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Police responded to the park around 6 p.m. on Saturday. They are looking at two suspects, though the motive at this time is unclear. It’s too early to say if it is gang-related, but it could be drugs, Capri said.
Clearly, it involves juveniles.
“There is not much gun violence here,” Capri said, referring to two shootings in 10 months, “but I have zero tolerance for it.”
“Thank God it was not a homicide.”
No one else was hurt, either.
Capri said the shooting is his department’s top priority, and it is being proactive. More cameras will be installed at the park, for example.
“We’re also talking with other cities,” he said.
Last Sunday, Leesburg Police Department officers arrested a 17-year-old and charged him with being one of several young men involved in a wild shootout at a park filled with children and a dance troop holding a fundraiser.
“Fortunately, no one was injured in the shooting,” said LPD's Lt. Scott Mack.
The teen, who the Daily Commercial is not naming because of his age, was arrested last Sunday and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and possession of a weapon by a minor.
Police were called to Berry Park at 2121 Johns Ave., at 3:49 p.m., on Jan. 8.
Witnesses said a group of men approached a red Chevy Impala in the parking lot, and when they got near, they pulled out guns and started shooting. The men in the car got out and started firing back.
Numerous shots were fired before both sides broke off the attack and fled.
“We’ve got a couple of idiots out there and we’ve got to get them off the street,” Capri said.
This article originally appeared on Daily Commercial: Teen shot in the face in Eustis; police investigating the incident
