A man who died following an Aug. 12 shooting in the Seminole Mobile Home Park was identified by St. Lucie County Sheriff’s officials as 36-year-old Armando Vasquez Jr., according to a spokesperson Aug. 17.
Investigators and the St. Lucie County Fire District at 9:11 p.m. Aug. 12 went to the incident in the community in the 3300 block of Orange Avenue west of downtown Fort Pierce, sheriff’s officials stated.
Sheriff Richard Del Toro on Aug. 13 said the shooting happened following verbal and text messaging threats between the deceased and a 22-year-old man. The two lived in the park.
The man who died, identified publicly Aug. 17 as Vasquez, came to the residence. He knocked on the front door before the 22-year-old allowed him inside.
The 22-year-old “was attacked by being pushed and then punched in the stomach several times, at which point our shooter disengaged from the deceased, pulled out a handgun, and shot the deceased one time, point blank,” Del Toro said.
A 9mm handgun was used, he said.
Del Toro said the sister and girlfriend of the man who fired were at the scene, and their statements corroborate that of the shooter.
“No charges are being filed at this time against the shooter,” Del Toro said. “It’s still under review as far as possibly a stand your ground, self-defense type of a case.”
The case remains under investigation, according to Capt. Andrew Bolonka, sheriff’s spokesperson, on Aug. 17.
At the scene the morning of Aug. 13, several residents declined comment or did not answer knocks to their doors, as a number of cats wandered around or lounged in the heat.
Still, one resident did share her thoughts.
Ambar Wolfcale, 31, said she moved to the park in May and referenced what she said was an arrest there days before the shooting incident.
“I hope this doesn’t continue happening because now that was a body that was picked up,” Wolfcale said. “My husband didn’t hear any shooting, which I feel like we would have, because, you know, shots are pretty loud. But all I seen was the one (woman) outside with the cops and they were like all around the neighborhood.”
Will Greenlee is a breaking news reporter for TCPalm. Follow Will on X @OffTheBeatTweet or reach him by phone at 772-267-7926. E-mail him at will.greenlee@tcpalm.com.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: 36-year-old man dead after shooting in Florida identified
Reporting by Will Greenlee, Treasure Coast Newspapers / Treasure Coast Newspapers
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Will Greenlee, Treasure Coast Newspapers | USA TODAY Network
