Three people were arrested after a fight over ownership of a cat led to shots being fired in Lakeland late Sunday night, leaving neighbors shocked and concerned.
Shortly after 11 p.m., officers were called to 815 Gilmore Avenue for reports of shots fired, the Lakeland Police Department said.
When officers arrived, they learned the suspects, a man and two women, showed up at the residence of two women and demanded a cat.
Police said the incident escalated when one of the women was pulled outside by one of the suspects, which led to all five individuals getting into a “physical altercation.”
That’s when one of the suspects pulled out a screwdriver to use as a weapon, LPD said.
After seeing the screwdriver, one of the victims retrieved a shotgun from the residence and “fired warning shots at the suspects.”
The three suspects were arrested. Two were charged with battery and one of the female suspects was charged with battery and aggravated assault, according to police.
One of the victims and one of the suspects were taken to the Lakeland Regional Health with non-life-threatening injuries.
However, the aftermath left bullet holes in a neighbor’s car and concern among residents.
“I was in the living room area and I heard people yelling and screaming. I even looked through the window and saw people being knocked down on the pavement. The screaming was so loud that there were other people outside watching,” Christine Squillante, the neighbor whose car was riddled with bullet holes, said.
Squillante said the shooting began about 15 minutes into the argument and recalled the moment she heard gunshots.
“After about 15 minutes that they were here — and still yelling — there was shooting like crazy and it sounded like they were actually shooting at my window, so I ducked down and I started screaming because my phone was on the windowsill and I didn’t want to get by the window and get shot,” she said.
“I had no idea at the time, at 11 o’clock, that my car was shot at. I thought it was just ricocheting from the buildings and from the window. I found out later that my car for some reason was a target because I don’t even know who these people are.”
The investigation is ongoing.
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Source: wfla
