Gunshots, a car crash and a torched SUV. Victim refuses to help detectives

A 28-year-old man is not cooperating with detectives after a shooting in Bradenton left him in critical condition on Tuesday afternoon, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office said.

Just before 4 p.m., deputies say the 28-year-old man was driving west on 57th Avenue, in the Bayshore Gardens area, when one or more people in a white Mitsubishi Outlander opened fire on his vehicle. The man, whose identity is being withheld by the sheriff’s office, was hit by at least one of the bullets.

After being shot, he turned into the parking lot of Isaac’s Discount Mini Mart, 1115 57th Ave. W., Bradenton, where he hit another vehicle in the lot before driving away, according to a sheriff’s office news release.

Deputies later found in him inside his vehicle at another nearby business, Big City Tires, located at 5507 14th Street West.

The shooting victim was rushed to Blake Medical Center to be treated for his non-life-threatening gunshot wound, and was expected to make a full recovery, sheriff’s office spokesman Randy Warren said.

The victim, however, isn’t cooperating with the sheriff’s office investigation and won’t tell detectives why someone may have been shooting at him.

“This is not the first time for him,” Warren said. “He was shot several times in 2019 in an incident of similar circumstance and similar facts. That time he claimed he didn’t know why someone would shoot at him.”

As a result, detectives don’t know how many suspects are responsible for the shooting.

Deputies found the Outlander that the shooting suspects were driving abandoned and torched in the 1400 block of 20th Avenue East. The suspects may have left the scene in a black Dodge Challenger, according to the sheriff’s office.

Detectives have since discovered that the SUV was stolen out of Sarasota and found evidence inside the car, which is why they believe the suspects tried to torch it when they ditched it. Useful evidence in the case was also found inside the victim’s car.

“We were thankful no one else was hurt in this shooting,” Warren added. “People could have been injured in that car accident and we certainly couldn’t have others injured in the gunfire.”

Anyone with information about the shooting can contact the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office at 941-747-3011 or submit an anonymous tip through Manatee County Crime Stoppers by calling 866-634-8477 (TIPS) or online at manateecrimestoppers.com.

This story was originally published November 2, 2021 at 7:43 PM.