1 dead, 7 wounded by gunfire at event honoring Martin Luther King Jr., Florida cops say

One person was killed and seven others wounded when rival gangs began firing at each other during a community event honoring civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr., according to the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office in Florida.

In all 12 people were injured, including four hurt in the resulting panic, the sheriff’s office said in a news release.

The woman who died was a 30-year-old Fort Pierce native, “who was at the party with her 6-year-old daughter,” officials said at a news conference. Her identity has not been released.

The shootings happened around 5:20 p.m. Monday, Jan. 16, during the 772 MLK Car Show & Family Fun Day at Ilous Ellis Park in Fort Pierce, officials said.

“Evidence supports that this shooting was the result of a dispute between two rival Fort Pierce gangs,” Chief Deputy Brian Hester said at a news conference. “There were over 50 shell casings that were recovered from the scene, from three different calibers of weapons.”

Eight people were hit by gunfire and four others were injured as they fled the county park. Those four included people hit by vehicles and others who were “possibly trampled,” station WPBF reported. One was a juvenile.

It is estimated more than 1,000 people were attending the car show when “mass chaos” erupted, TCPalm.com reported. The event was promoted as featuring “live music, a local car show, kids bounce zone, and more to honor and celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.”

“There were people laying behind cars,” Hester told the news outlet. “It was kind of hard to tell who a victim was and who was just hiding.”

The sheriff’s office has leads on suspects but is not releasing information at this time, officials said.

“Let me be very, very clear,” Hester said at the news conference. “If you are thinking of, or are hiding, supporting, protecting, aiding, helping in anyway any suspect, anyone involved in this heinous incident, then I can assure you that we will arrest you and we will charge you to the fullest extent of the law for partaking in that support.”

The shootings followed a day of events that included a a parade and neighborhood festival.

Fort Pierce is about 125 miles north of Miami on Florida’s east coast.

This story was originally published January 17, 2023 at 4:24 AM with the headline "1 dead, 7 wounded by gunfire at event honoring Martin Luther King Jr., Florida cops say."