The Sarasota Police Department says the suspects in a drive-by shooting this weekend used assault rifles on their victims.
The shooting, which happened at 30th Street and Leon Avenue around 2:30 Saturday morning, killed 22-year-old Naomi Clyburn and wounded four others in the Newtown neighborhood of North Sarasota.
Police have received a lot of leads from the community, but they’re urging more people to come forward in order to catch the suspects.
On Monday afternoon, the department released the frantic 911 calls from several people pleading for help on Saturday morning.
“Oh, God! Oh, God!” one caller yelled from the front yard where the shooting happened.
“That was crazy because it just kept going,” one neighbor said as he described hearing rounds fired.
Callers describe hearing at least 30 rounds fired. Placards scattered across the street hours later show that number may have been even higher.
“Whether any of these five people were the intended victims or whether this was a random act of violence, that’s what we’re investigating,” Sarasota Police Captain Paul Sutton says.
So far, one of their most promising leads is a teal Chevy pickup truck that was abandoned a few blocks away from the crime scene. Inside, detectives found evidence linking it to the shooting.
“It’s generated a lot of leads,” Sutton says. “This is something that no community is going to put up with. This community is coming forward and helping us with the case.”
On Sunday evening, there were burning candles and tear-stained faces at an evening vigil mourning Clyburn’s death.
“My son got murdered at 21. My niece got murdered at 22 years old,” one woman screamed. “Y’all aren’t even making it to 25 years old. Lord, just stop it!”
They say the least they can do right now is help find the suspects, so they can honor a life lost and help a community in shock.
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