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'It was not road rage': Car left riddled with bullets after shooting near 45th and Military Trail

'It was not road rage': Car left riddled with bullets after shooting near 45th and Military Trail
THAT’S COMING UP. GOOD. THANK YOU. A TERRIFYING SCENE IN A CROWDED WEST PALM BEACH STREET TODAY, STARTING WITH A MAN STANDING IN THE MEDIAN AND OPENING FIRE ON A CAR. POLICE SAY AT LEAST 45 SHOTS WERE FIRED. THREE PEOPLE WERE INJURED. ARI HAIT HAS MORE FROM WITNESSES. AND THE LATEST ON THE SEARCH FOR THE SHOOTER OR SHOOTERS. LET’S TALK FIRST ABOUT THE VICTIMS. POLICE TELL US ALL THREE ARE EXPECTED TO BE OKAY, WHICH IS EXTREMELY FORTUNATE GIVEN THAT THIS SHOOTING HAPPENED IN THE MIDDLE OF 45TH STREET IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY WITH PEOPLE ALL AROUND. IT IS A DIVERSE AUDIENCE STANDING IN THE MEDIAN WITH ONE IN HOODIE UP, BLASTING THE CAR. IT WAS LIKE BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG. THEY PRETTY MUCH UNLOADED ON THE MEDIA RIGHT AROUND 1:30 P.M. 45TH STREET, JUST EAST OF MILITARY TRAIL EL. POLICE SAY PEOPLE IN TWO CARS WERE FIGHTING AS THEY WERE DRIVING WEST. NOT A ROAD RAGE DISPUTE. THIS IS SOMETHING WHERE THESE TWO PARTIES APPARENTLY ARE KNOWN TO EACH OTHER AT THE SAME TIME. A WOMAN AROUND 50 YEARS OLD WAS DRIVING IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION. FOR SOME REASON, SHE CROSSED THE CENTER LINE AND COLLIDED WITH ONE OF THE CARS IN THE FIGHT. AT THAT POINT, IT APPEARS THAT THE SUSPECTS OR SUBJECTS IN THE VEHICLE THAT DID NOT CRASH GOT OUT OF THE CAR AND OPENED FIRE ON THE OTHER CAR. POLICE COUNTED MORE THAN 45 SHOTS FROM AT LEAST TWO WEAPONS. THE TWO PEOPLE IN THE CAR WERE BOTH HIT, BUT THEIR INJURIES ARE DESCRIBED AS MINOR. DETECTIVES ARE STILL TRYING TO DETERMINE IF THERE WAS AN EXCHANGE OF GUNFIRE OR IF THEY WERE JUST AMBUSHED LIKE THIS. ALL THIS WAS HAPPENING IN THE MIDDLE OF TRAFFIC. PEDESTRIANS, BUSINESSES WAS READY FOR IT. LET’S TALK TO A CUSTOMER AND JUST START SHOOTING RIGHT THERE IS CRAZY. DEXTER COOK SAYS SOME PEOPLE IN HIS BUSINESS RAN FOR COVER. OTHERS WENT TO SEE WHAT WAS GOING ON. I WAS JUST LIKE, GET AWAY FROM THE DOORS AND WINDOWS AND JUST CALL 911. DETECTIVES SAY NOBODY ELSE WAS SHOT, WHICH THEY CALL A MIRACLE. GIVEN THE NUMBER OF SHOTS AND THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE IN THE AREA. WHEN YOU HAVE UPWARDS OF 45 ROUNDS, STRAY BULLETS CAN KILL. AND WE WERE VERY LUCKY THAT AT THAT TIME OF DAY, ON A BUSY STREET, WE WERE VERY FORTUNATE THAT NOBODY ELSE WAS STRUCK. POLICE SAY RIGHT NOW THE TWO VICTIMS WHO WERE SHOT ARE NOT COOPERATING WITH THE INVESTIGATION. DETECTIVES AT THIS POINT HAVE NOT RELEASED ANY INFORMATION ABOUT THE SHOOTERS NOR ABOUT THE VEHICLE THEY WERE DRIVING. IF YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION ABOUT THIS SHOOTING, PLEASE CALL THE WEST PALM BEACH POLI
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'It was not road rage': Car left riddled with bullets after shooting near 45th and Military Trail
Two people in a car were injured Friday afternoon after at least one gunman fired about 45 shots in the middle of a busy West Palm Beach street.West Palm Beach police public information officer Mike Jachles said it happened just before 1:30 p.m. on 45th Street, just east of Military Trail.“You just heard pops,” said Dexter Coots, who works in the area. “Looked over, saw the dude standing in the median with one hand, hoodie up, blasting the car.”Your neighborhood: Local coverage from WPBF 25 News“It was like, 'bang, bang, bang, bang,'” said Michael Juinor Morales Mendoza, another witness.“He pretty much unloaded the mag right there in the median,” said Coots.Jachles said it started with people in two cars fighting with each other as they were driving west on 45th Street.“Not a road rage dispute,” Jachles said. “This is something where these two parties apparently are known to each other.”At the same time, a woman around 50 years old was driving in the opposite direction.For some reason, she crossed the center line and collided with one of the cars in the fight.“At that point, it appears that the suspects or subjects in the vehicle that did not crash got out of the car and opened fire on the other car,” Jachles said.Police said about 45 shots were fired from at least two weapons. The two people in the car were both hit, one in the hand and one in the leg.Jachles described their injuries as minor.“Detectives are still trying to determine if there was an exchange of gunfire or if they were just ambushed like this,” he said.All of this was happening in the middle of traffic, pedestrians, and businesses.“I wasn’t ready for it,” Coots said. “I was talking to a customer, and they just started shooting right there. It was crazy.”Coots said some people ran for cover in the back of the store while others ran to see what was going on.“I was just like, ‘Get away from the doors and windows’ and called 911,” he said.Police said only the the driver in the car was shot, which they called a miracle given how many people were in the area.“When you have upwards of 45 rounds, stray bullets can kill,” Jachles said. “And we were very lucky at that time of day on a busy street with a lot of people out, we were very fortunate that nobody else was struck.”Police have not released the names of the people in the vehicle, but say neither is cooperating in the investigation.They also have not released the name of the woman involved in the car crash but did say she was hospitalized with minor injuries.No arrests have been made. Police have not released a description of the suspects or the car they were driving. In the headlines: Suspect found driving car of missing Lyft driver is wanted for murder in Florida

Two people in a car were injured Friday afternoon after at least one gunman fired about 45 shots in the middle of a busy West Palm Beach street.

West Palm Beach police public information officer Mike Jachles said it happened just before 1:30 p.m. on 45th Street, just east of Military Trail.

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“You just heard pops,” said Dexter Coots, who works in the area. “Looked over, saw the dude standing in the median with one hand, hoodie up, blasting the car.”

Your neighborhood: Local coverage from WPBF 25 News

“It was like, 'bang, bang, bang, bang,'” said Michael Juinor Morales Mendoza, another witness.

“He pretty much unloaded the mag right there in the median,” said Coots.

Jachles said it started with people in two cars fighting with each other as they were driving west on 45th Street.

“Not a road rage dispute,” Jachles said. “This is something where these two parties apparently are known to each other.”

At the same time, a woman around 50 years old was driving in the opposite direction.

For some reason, she crossed the center line and collided with one of the cars in the fight.

“At that point, it appears that the suspects or subjects in the vehicle that did not crash got out of the car and opened fire on the other car,” Jachles said.

Police said about 45 shots were fired from at least two weapons.

The two people in the car were both hit, one in the hand and one in the leg.

Jachles described their injuries as minor.

“Detectives are still trying to determine if there was an exchange of gunfire or if they were just ambushed like this,” he said.

All of this was happening in the middle of traffic, pedestrians, and businesses.

“I wasn’t ready for it,” Coots said. “I was talking to a customer, and they just started shooting right there. It was crazy.”

Coots said some people ran for cover in the back of the store while others ran to see what was going on.

“I was just like, ‘Get away from the doors and windows’ and called 911,” he said.

Police said only the the driver in the car was shot, which they called a miracle given how many people were in the area.

“When you have upwards of 45 rounds, stray bullets can kill,” Jachles said. “And we were very lucky at that time of day on a busy street with a lot of people out, we were very fortunate that nobody else was struck.”

Police have not released the names of the people in the vehicle, but say neither is cooperating in the investigation.

They also have not released the name of the woman involved in the car crash but did say she was hospitalized with minor injuries.

No arrests have been made.

Police have not released a description of the suspects or the car they were driving.

In the headlines: Suspect found driving car of missing Lyft driver is wanted for murder in Florida