HAINES CITY, Fla. – After his son was killed Thursday night in a drive-by shooting, a local father is begging for members of the community to come forward with information that could lead to a suspect in the case.
The Haines City Police Department said about 30 rounds were fired during the shooting, which occurred before 9 p.m. in the area of North 15th Street.
Oscar Lee Hendrix Jr., 36, of Haines City, was killed and two other men and a woman were injured, records show.
[TRENDING: Gov: Vaccine coming to Florida ‘relatively soon’ | CDC: Avoid Thanksgiving travel | Georgia presidential race recount results]
A home with four children inside and two vehicles were also sprayed with bullets during the drive-by shooting.
On Friday, Haines City Police Chief Jim Elensky spoke alongside the victim’s father, Oscar Hendrix Sr., in an effort to encourage any potential witnesses to step forward.
Elensky said the three other victims are not cooperating and he doesn’t believe Hendrix Jr. was the intended target.
“When you’re driving 30, 40 mph and you’re squeezing a trigger constantly, you’re going to do a lot of damage and you’re going to hit a lot of people and in this case certainly killed a person,” the chief said.
Hendrix Sr. said he’s overcome with pain at the loss of his only son.
“This is a sad, sad moment. I had only one son and he was good to everybody,” he said. “My son, he would give you the shirt off his back. He’d give you the food off his plate. Everybody loved him ‘cause he was so giving and then somebody got stupid and took someone from somebody.”
The grieving father broke down in tears before he could finish his comments.
“I need you all to come forward and help me solve my pain, I’ve got a lot of it. I’ve got a lot of hurting,” Hendrix Sr. said.
Elensky called the shooting a tragedy that should hit home for every Haines City resident.
“I want people to know this may be your son next time, your husband, your father next time,” he said.
The chief said he and his officers are determined to make an arrest in this case and bring closure to the family.
Anyone with any information about the fatal shooting is asked to call the Haines City Police Department at 863-421-3636 or Heartland Crime Stoppers at 1-800-226-8477 (TIPS).