Gainesville Police are looking for an armed robber after a man reportedly shot another man in the leg at the Hidden Village apartment complex Tuesday night — and left one man in the hospital and another on the run.
At about 9:15 p.m. Tuesday, officers received a call about shots fired in the apartment complex, located in the 2700 block of SW 27th Ave. They then found a 63-year-old man on the ground.
The victim reportedly tried to stop a man from breaking into his daughter’s car, GPD spokesman Officer Ben Tobias said.
The victim eventually swung a flashlight at the man’s head, at which point the man pulled out a gun and shot the victim in his right leg, Tobias said.
When police arrived, the man was gone and the victim’s 25-year-old daughter was trying to stop her father’s bleeding.
Police used a tourniquet on the victim before emergency services transported him to UF Health Shands Hospital. His current status is unknown.
The gunman reportedly stole the victim’s wallet and his daughter’s purse and cellphone in addition to a nearby woman’s purse and necklace, Tobias said.
The victim was visiting his daughter to help with her car when the confrontation unfolded, Tobias said, and witnesses reportedly saw the robber lingering beforehand.
Yvette Quinn, 60, a resident in the complex, said she heard two gunshots while inspecting the apartment’s flooded entrance and looked up to see a man running in the opposite direction.
“It was just shocking,” she said.
Quinn said her experience as a Florida social worker and Navy veteran might be why she ran toward the victims before police arrived.
“I can’t imagine running away from people who need help,” she said.
Police are calling the shooting a crime of opportunity, and Quinn thinks neighborhood flooding created that opportunity.
“So many cars have stalled out that we’ve had to push them out all day, and so they’re parking up there and they’re prime for robbery,” she said.
Russell Manning, 41, said he moved to Hidden Village in February and never worried about crime.
“Everybody kind of keeps to themselves back here,” he said.
Tobias said Gainesville Police is working on a comprehensive robbery prevention plan that includes a public-safety presentation, self-defense classes and increased Citizens on Patrol presence.
The shooter had not been identified.
“It’s definitely no secret that our number of robberies have increased, so we can’t just keep responding to these calls — we have to be proactive in it as well,” Tobias said.
Contact Giuseppe Sabella at gsabella@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @Gsabella
A Gainesville Police sergeant looks on as Investigator Rosell bags evidence from the armed robbery that occurred at Hidden Village Sept. 8, 2015
Police officers gather around the crime scene of an armed robbery Sept. 8, 2015, at Hidden Village apartments.
Officers stop and search cars leaving Oxford Manor for the armed robber who shot a man at Hidden Village Apartments Sept. 8, 2015.
First aid materials lay on the ground where a man was shot in the leg by a robber.
Gainesville Police Cpl. Rob Kennedy examines the cars inside the crime scene of an armed robbery.
Officer Porfirio Laboy works from inside his vehicle.
