SEMINOLE, Fla. — A murder suspect was arrested Thursday following two shootings he allegedly committed in Seminole in the past week.
Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said a 20-year-old suspect was arrested Thursday afternoon following shootings on Oct. 13 and Oct. 7.
In the Oct. 7 shooting, Sheriff Gualtieri said a victim was fired at multiple times at the Bayou Courtyard Apartments. Some of the bullets struck the victim who told deputies he saw someone come from around the corner. The victim's injuries were not life-threatening.
ABC Action News spoke to the victim and his girlfriend. The victim said he was shot in the arm and the thigh. He said he took cover by a car. The couple did not want to go on camera.
"I'm very grateful that he's alive. I'm very grateful, but I'm still scared for him. I'm very afraid right now," said the girlfriend who asked us not to identify her.
On Oct. 13, deputies responded to the 8400 block of 75th Place North after reports of gunshots. When they arrived on the scene, they found a man dead in the street. Coincidentally, Sheriff Gualtieri said, the man also lived at the Bayou Courtyard Apartments where the first shooting took place.
Gualtieri said a dashcam video from a citizen's car, and several home security cameras that were in the area captured gunshots on video along with a Lexus parked in the area of the shooting. After the gunshots, about 57 seconds later, the Lexus is seen speeding away from the area.
Thursday morning, detectives located 20-year-old Elijah McCray. The sheriff's office said the victims and suspect did not know each other. After a search warrant was issued for the suspect's home and car, Gualtieri said they found the gun and ammunition that was used at both shootings.
"This was a true public safety nightmare that was getting ready to unfold, but thanks to good old-fashioned police work, technology, science, and good partnerships and cooperation through information between citizens and law enforcement, a murderer is off the street," Sheriff Gualtieri said.
The suspect was charged with resisting an officer without violence, attempted first-degree murder and, pending lab tests, will also be charged with first-degree murder and delinquent in possession of a firearm.
Sheriff Gualtieri added the investigation remains active and ongoing.
