Shootout erupts as 100 attend prom after-party, Florida cops say. Three injured
A 17-year-old hit in the eye with shrapnel was among the three people hurt when gunfire erupted at a crowded after-prom party, according to to Florida investigators.
It happened around 3:30 a.m. Sunday, May 4, outside a vacation rental in Davenport, and detectives say countless witnesses are not helping detectives in the investigation.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd was clearly frustrated at a May 5 news conference, noting the injured included a teen girl left with a bullet graze across her forehead.
“Why is it that there’s over 100 people here and nobody knows anything? ... I want you to think about it. I supposed 100 of them were in the bathroom and the other 25 just arrived after the event was over. That’s all I can figure,” Judd said.
Investigators say the victims — two age 17 and one age 18 — are Osceola High School students who were in a car when shooting erupted outside the Azur Resort vacation rentals.
Who started shooting and why remain a mystery, Judd said.
Thirty-three shell casings have been found from three different guns, Judd said.
“We found a second floor apartment with a bullet through the window and into the house,” he said.
“We found bullet remnants that have hit all the different apartments. We found bullets that have hit vehicles. So it was a shoot out. Two opposing groups, for whatever reasons, decided to have a shootout among what appears to be 100 high school and very young kids.”
It’s suspected the group involved students from three different high schools who gathered outside the Azur for a party in at least one of the rental units, Judd said.
A complaint about the crowd was made around 2:45 a.m. and reports of an active shooter were received at 3:38 a.m., Judd said. Investigators heard reports of an argument breaking out prior to the shooting, he said.
Video shared from the scene shows the teens began scrambling to get indoors as dozens of shots were fired across the parking lot.
The three victims “had no part” in the disturbance, Judd said, they were “just where they shouldn’t have been after midnight.” Of the three, the 17-year-old hit in the eye suffered the worst injuries, and it’s possible he may lose vision in that eye, Judd said.
Due to the lack of cooperating witnesses, surveillance video has become a key part of the investigation. Among the many things yet to be revealed is how the three shooters left the parking lot, Judd said.
“We have no idea who suspects are at this point,” Judd said. “They will shoot again and they may have shot before, if nobody’s telling on them, if nobody is helping us identify them. ... They just shot through a parking lot with 100 kids in it.”
The sheriff urged potential witnesses to call Crime Stoppers at 1-888-400-8477 for anonymous tips.
Davenport is about a 65-mile drive northeast from Tampa.
This story was originally published May 6, 2025 at 11:20 AM with the headline "Shootout erupts as 100 attend prom after-party, Florida cops say. Three injured."