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March 5, 2011

Shooting victims chase down suspect

Staff Suwannee Democrat

Live Oak — Two Live Oak men chased down their alleged assailant after being shot Friday, said LOPD Chief Buddy Williams.

The men, shot a total of five times with a .22-caliber handgun, apprehended the alleged gunman, 30-year-old Omar Garcia of 13567 116th Place, Live Oak, just as police arrived, said Williams.

According to a report by LOPD Det. Justin Bates, Garcia was drinking beer with friends at a McGee Street home around 6 p.m. when several other men arrived in a van to visit a resident there.

Garcia, said by police to be intoxicated, reportedly approached the men in an aggressive manner then pulled up his shirt to reveal a handgun that he threatened to use. The men confronted Garcia, at which point he allegedly pulled the weapon from his waistband and began firing at them.

The men sought cover behind the van, at which point Garcia reportedly ran across McGee Street to Mussey Avenue, firing as he fled.

Police say the men did not know they had been hit and began chasing Garcia down Mussey on foot.

Garcia hid in a wooded area and reloaded his gun with bullets he had in his pocket, reports show. Seeing the men approach, Garcia then fired in their direction several more times, say police.

Garcia ran east on Bryson Street then turned west on Anna Avenue, at which point the wounded men caught up with him.

Both victims, who remain hospitalized in Gainesville, are expected to survive, said Williams.

One of the men, shot twice in the chest and once in the stomach, was in critical condition Friday night but had improved considerably as of Saturday, said Williams.

The other man, shot in the stomach and leg, was listed in stable condition.

Garcia was booked in the Suwannee County Jail on a charge of attempted second degree murder with a firearm.

He reportedly told police he carried the gun for use on animals he came in contact with in the woods as he raked pine straw.

He said he didn’t intend to shoot anyone but feared the victims meant him harm even though he knew them to be unarmed, reports show.

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