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A double shooting occurred at a gas station in Kissimmee, Florida, this Wednesday morning. Two people have been hospitalized and one man is behind bar and is facing charges of attempted murder.
Verne Gomez, 53, is currently in police custody. He is accused of shooting two people outside a gas station at the corner of Dyer Blvd. and Columbia Ave. just after 8 A.M. The shooting is reported to have taken place this Wednesday morning in the town of Kissimmee. Police say that the suspect is the female victim’s husband.
“That was a surprise to us. We had no idea that he had a firearm or where he would have gotten one,” said Menisha Bonelli, the suspect’s family member.
Bonelli and her family reportedly have a tough time coming to grips with the fact that Verne Gomez has been arrested and accused of attempted murder on his wife.
“He got upset and lashed out and took it out in a bad way,” said Bonelli.
Kissimmee police said that the suspect (Gomez) arrived at a Sunoco Food Mart shortly after 8 A.M. on Wednesday. Several shots were reportedly at that location (at the corner of West Columbia Avenue and Dyer Boulevard). Several shots were fired. The store manager spoke with ESH 2 News and claims that the whole scene was caught on surveillance camera, and that footage has been handed over to detectives.
Authorities report that Gomez’s wife has been hospitalized and is currently in critical condition. Meanwhile, the second victim is an Uber driver who received a non-life-threatening wound.
Police responded to the shooting with a show of force. Squad cars and armed officers descended upon the neighborhood near Michigan Avenue and Boulder Drive, where the suspect lives. But Gomez was nowhere to be found.
Relatives of the suspect have said that Gomez and his wife have been arguing lately.
“I know they had some issues in their marriage and they may have been separating, so that’s probably the case,” Bonelli said. “None of us knew that he was capable or even had the means to carry out something like this.”
Officers were able to catch up with the suspect early Wednesday afternoon. Verne Gomez has been arrested and charged with attempted murder. Authorities are currently investigating the motive behind today’s violence.
