A Sarasota home was hosting a baby shower. Then shots rang out

Authorities are investigating after a man was shot at a Sarasota home where a baby shower was being held Saturday evening.

Sarasota County Sheriff’s deputies were called to a home in the 4400 block of Caicos Court in Sarasota at 5:21 p.m. Saturday after receiving a report of shots fired.

“There was a lot of radio traffic, we had a lot of information that came to us very quickly and so multiple units arrived on scene,” Kaitlyn Perez, spokeswoman for the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office, said in a news conference.

Preliminary information in the investigation indicated there were between 30 and 50 people at the home, as a baby shower was going on at the time of the shooting, according to the sheriff’s office.

Witnesses told deputies three men wearing hooded sweatshirts came up to a man as he walked out of the house and fired multiple shots.

The man, who has not yet been identified, was struck multiple times, Perez said. He is believed to be the only person struck by bullets. The home, however, was also struck.

After he was shot, he ran to a nearby residence before going back to the home, according to Perez.

The man was taken to Sarasota Memorial Hospital as a trauma alert. Perez said she did not have an update on his condition.

Witnesses said the three men ran westbound on Wilkinson Road, but so far multiple deputies, K-9 units and the Aviation Unit have not been able to find the suspects.

Perez said investigators are confident the incident is isolated and do not believe the public is at risk.

“Based on the information we have right now, this is an isolated incident. The people approached this specific home and then fled the other way. We feel confident at this point in the investigation that it’s isolated and those individuals have taken off,” Perez said.

Anyone with information related to the incident is asked to contact the Criminal Investigations Section of the sheriff’s office at 941-861-4900 or Crime Stoppers of Sarasota County at 941-366-TIPS.

This story was originally published October 28, 2017 at 8:40 PM with the headline "A Sarasota home was hosting a baby shower. Then shots rang out."