10 injured in Lakeland drive-by shooting, 2 in critical condition
LAKELAND, Fla. -- At least 10 people were wounded Monday afternoon in a drive-by shooting in Lakeland, police said, and two are in critical condition.
A dark-blue Nissan four-door sedan pulled up at the scene of the shooting, Lakeland Police Department Chief Sam Taylor said.
"The vehicle slowed, did not stop, and the four windows went down. It appeared to be occupied by four shooters in the vehicle," Taylor said. "They started firing from all four windows of the vehicle and shooting males on both sides."
Eight of the victims have nonlife-threatening wounds, he said at a news briefing Monday evening.
Police believe it was a targeted event, the chief said.
The Nissan took off at a high speed, and police are "actively looking for that vehicle now," Taylor said.
"We will be out most of the night trying to figure out who these individuals are in the vehicle," Taylor said.
Police found a "quantity" of marijuana at the scene, which indicates to police that "there was a narcotic sales or sales of marijuana going on at the time," Taylor said. "Whether that is significant or related to this is unknown."
The chief said in his 34 years with the department, he had never worked on a case where so many people had been shot at one time.
"This is something that doesn't happen to Lakeland," he said.
Lakeland is located between Orlando and Tampa and sits largely along Interstate 4 in Central Florida. It's the site for the corporate headquarters for Publix.
Authorities are searching for the suspects.
