DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — A day of violence in Daytona Beach has law enforcement on high alert amid a trend of shootings that have taken place in the city over the past couple of days.
- Chief Capri: At least 8 shootings in Daytona Beach over last couple of days
- One Tuesday evening shooting in the city turned deadly
- Another evening shooting led to a high-speed chase
On Tuesday evening, a drive-by shooting that began on Moore Street led to a high-speed chase, which ended at Fremont Avenue and Ridgewood Avenue.
Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood says his deputies and helicopter assisted in the chase, where four people were ultimately arrested.
A man and woman were bit by Volusia County Sheriff’s Office K9 after they tried to run away.
Chitwood says when you mess with one part of Volusia County, you mess with it all.
“We are not going to allow gun-toting thugs to take over our community. It doesn’t matter where you live, you can rest assured the full force of law enforcement is going to come down on you,” he said.
But this is just one of several shootings plaguing Daytona Beach in the last few days.
Someone was killed in another shooting just two hours before the drive-by shooting and chase.
The earlier shooting happened just before 3:50 p.m. and at Weaver Street and Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune Boulevard. The victim was taken to Halifax Health Medical Center, where he later died of his injuries.
“What I can do for them is to bring this killer to justice, hunt him down and get him in custody so he can’t hurt anybody else, and get closure for that family, and that’s a promise I’m making right now,” Chitwood said.
A separate shooting also happened on Madison Avenue and Gibson Street near a Taco Bell, where a woman in a vehicle was shot in one of her calves.
She was taken to Halifax Health Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries.
No word yet on whether the three shootings are related.
Daytona Beach Chief Craig Capri says there have been least eight shootings in Daytona Beach just within the last couple of days, and that he says they’re taking this rash of violence seriously.
“You’re going to see a lot more officers out with our program we do every summer, and we’re just going to keep hitting it hard to make our streets safer for our citizens, our visitors, and our business owners,” Capri said.