OCALA, Fla. – Two children were wounded early Friday when their Ocala home was riddled with bullets in a drive-by shooting, police said.
The shooting happened around 2 a.m at a home on Northwest 3rd Street, near Howard Middle School.
Ocala police said the children, a 4-year-old boy and an 8-year-old boy, were taken to Shands Hospital in Gainesville, where they were listed in stable condition. The extent of their injuries was not released. Ocala police initially said one of the boys was 6 years old.
According to police, the mother of the children said the boys were watching TV when several shots were fired into the home. Three other children inside the home were not injured, police said.
Minutes prior to the shooting, another drive-by was reported nearby at 1910 Northwest 26th Avenue, according to police. No one was injured in the shooting, which came a day after two other drive-by shootings were reported at the same home, police said. At least one person was injured in one of the previous two shootings, Ocala police said.
Police continue to investigate the shootings, but a description of the shooter or vehicle was not known.
Anyone with information about the shootings is urged to contact the Ocala Police Department at 352-369-7000. Tips may also be submitted through the department's mobile app, MyPD. Tips may also be submitted through Crime Stoppers of Marion County at 352-368-STOP, the website ocalacrimestoppers.com and by testing the keyword 368STOP to 274637.