Evidence of gunplay during late-night brawl

At 11:00 p.m. Saturday night, Carmelo’s Marketplace at 146 King Street, was closing for the night, but three-hours later, the east parking lot turned into the scene of a large brawl that police say included at least one gunshot being fired before it broke up.

Cecilia Aiple reported to Historic City News that police received a call from Flagler College Security at approximately 2:06 a.m. on Saturday, April 6th, informing them that a gunshot was heard in the area of King Street and Malaga Street.  When officers arrived at Carmelo’s, there were no signs of activity or injury.

Officer Alexander Barrera went into the business to review the store’s surveillance video, while Officer Spencer Ayers and Officer Eric Yarborough went to the parking lot to conduct a closer search for evidence.

Police confirmed that several black males had been engaged in what appeared to be “a large brawl” that took place in the parking lot, just east of the fuel pumps.  The video also showed people in the crowd ducking down suddenly; however, due to the angle of the video camera it was not possible to make out any of the faces of those involved in the fight.

Police Officer Ayers discovered a spent 9mm shell casing just east of the fuel pumps in the area where the brawl occurred.  While searching the scene for additional evidence, two bystanders approached Officer Yarborough and reported that they had observed a gun laying on King Street near Building A of the FEC Flagler College dorms.

Acting on the tip, officers checked the area and located a loaded GLOCK model 42 semi-automatic pistol.  There was one round of ammunition in the .380 caliber handgun’s chamber and five additional rounds in the magazine.

A subsequent report from Flagler Health indicated that a patient came to the emergency department complaining of a shrapnel wound.  Police went to the hospital and spoke to the patient who admitted that he was in the parking lot of Carmelo’s when the fight started.  His version of events was that he had attempted to break the fight up.

He told officers that he heard “a single gunshot” and felt a burning sensation just above his right eye.  The patient said that he used a napkin to wipe the area and noticed a small amount of blood.  He decided to have the hospital evaluate his injury; described as a laceration, less than a quarter of an inch in length.  The patient told Officer Yarborough that “he did not see who fired the gun and didn’t want to pursue charges against the person who did fire the gun”.

Police are currently following additional leads, and investigation of the case is ongoing.