PALM BAY, Fla. – A day after Palm Bay police investigated three homicides, detectives were called back to one of the neighborhoods to investigate a fourth shooting that left a man critically injured, News 6 partner Florida Today reported.
The latest shooting left an unidentified man in critical condition, said Lt. Tim Lancaster, of the Palm Bay Police Department.
Police said it is not believed that Wednesday's shooting is connected to a gunfight that left two men dead in the same neighborhood overnight Tuesday.
Police went to the residential area on Northview Street Northeast just after midnight Wednesday after receiving reports a man was wounded. The man was taken to Holmes Regional Medical Center in Melbourne.
Early Tuesday, the first shooting involved a gunfight that claimed two lives. The body of a third man was found in a vehicle about 5 miles from the gunfight.
Multiple residents reported hearing gunshots on James Street after 12:30 a.m. Tuesday.
Palm Bay and Melbourne officers arrived in the northeast neighborhood and found the body of a man fatally shot.
As officers began investigating, they found a gray car on a grassy lot at the intersection of Liberia Avenue and Henry Street, where they found the body of a second man who had been shot.
The two men were identified as Jalyn Decosta, 21, of Jacksonville, and Jerome Harris, 23, of Melbourne, whom residents in the area said was in the gray car.
About 5 miles away, investigators Tuesday found a third body, another man who had been shot to death. He was in a vehicle on Agora Road.
Calls about that shooting in a mostly industrial area of Palm Bay came in about 2:35 a.m. Tuesday. Police said they believe the shooting happened about 1:10 a.m., but residents did not contact officers until more than an hour later.
Police have not identified the 61-year-old man found dead in the vehicle in the middle of the road.
Late Tuesday, police were questioning two unidentified men.
Since Halloween, the city has seen four homicides, including three on Tuesday.
Investigations are ongoing.