A trip to retrieve a towed vehicle ended with gunfire, a school lockout, and a PIT maneuver Friday afternoon in Martin County, Florida.
The Martin County Sheriff’s Office said a woman from Miami arrived at a towing facility on Southeast Cove Road shortly after 1 p.m. on Oct. 2 to claim a vehicle that had been towed earlier in the day.
Another vehicle arrived soon afterward. The people inside became involved in an altercation with the woman, and deputies said she retrieved a firearm and fired multiple shots at them before leaving in another vehicle.
The shooting happened about half a mile from Murray Middle School, prompting the sheriff’s office to activate an active-shooter response while the school went into lockout.
Deputies Find Her Down the Road
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Road patrol deputies, aviation units and detectives began searching for the vehicle after the shooting.
Deputies spotted it on Cove Road near U.S. 1 and attempted a traffic stop, the sheriff’s office said. The driver fled.
That did not last long.
Deputies performed a PIT maneuver that brought the vehicle to a stop, then additional units moved in and immobilized it before the driver could leave again.
The woman was taken into custody and transported to the sheriff’s office for questioning.
The Other Group Was Already Gone
The people who had been shot at left the towing facility before deputies arrived.
As of the sheriff’s office’s latest update Friday afternoon, investigators had not determined whether any of them had been struck by gunfire.
Murray Middle School told families that the police activity involved an incident unrelated to the school and that administrators were following guidance from the sheriff’s office while the campus remained on lockout.
CBS12 reported Friday afternoon that the sheriff’s office had not yet released the woman’s identity or announced charges.
The investigation remains active, and the sheriff’s office said additional information would be released as it becomes available.
All parties are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.