19-year-old charged with murder after shooting in Bradenton motel parking lot

A 19-year-old suspect has been arrested after a shooting in the parking lot of a Bradenton area motel left one person dead and another hospitalized, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

Kenneth Polk II is charged with one count of second degree murder and one count of attempted murder.

The shooting happened around 1:50 a.m. Sunday morning in the parking lot of the Sunrise Inn at 668 67th Street Circle East, just north of State Road 64 and west of Interstate 75, the sheriff’s office said.

Deputies say a 22-year-old man and a 20-year-old woman were sitting in a parked car at the motel when they were approached by a man with a gun.

Following a brief conversation, the armed man fired a single shot into the open window of the car, the sheriff’s office said. The bullet went through the neck of the man and into the chest of the woman.

Detectives say the motive for the shooting is still unknown, but they believe that the victims were acquainted with Polk and drove from the St. Petersburg area to meet him.

After the shooting, the victims were able to drive themselves to Manatee Memorial Hospital, the news release said. The woman died there at 4:44 a.m. The man remained in the hospital on Sunday afternoon. He is expected to survive, the sheriff’s office said.

Detectives say they identified Polk as a suspect after talking to the male victim and witnesses at the scene, and he was located and arrested.

An investigation is ongoing.

This story was originally published September 11, 2022 at 3:48 PM.