SPRING HILL, Fla. (WFLA) — Parents, kids and coaches were shocked when gunfire rang out at a packed Hernando County park during a youth sporting event Wednesday night.
Gary Strickland was out on the football field at the Delta Woods Park on Deltona Boulevard in Spring Hill when it happened. He was still in disbelief on Thursday.
“I knew it was gunshots. I was actually at a gun range last week, so I am pretty familiar with gunshots,” Strickland said. “It was quite a few gunshots. I guarantee it was six or eight shots that kind of rang out. It took me a second, I kind of wish I would have reacted a little. I just sat there for a second and said, ‘that was gunshots,’ you know?”
Strickland is a coach for 7 and 8 year old football players. He estimates there were close to a hundred kids or more at the park when the shooting happened.
One man was injured but his injuries are not life threatening. Investigators have not released his name.
The Hernando County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the case. Detectives don’t believe the shooting was random and they are still looking for the gunman.
Jason Willis, who owns the Happy Daze smoke shop adjacent to the park, was sitting out in the back of his shop when the shots were fired.
“Heard a couple of kids arguing, I popped up, thought nothing of it,” Willis said. “They went to the parking lot and about 20 seconds later, you heard a couple of gunshots.”
A number of people commented about the shooting on social media, wondering why there isn’t an increased police presence at the park.
“Deputies routinely conduct security checks of area parks throughout their shift as times permits,” sheriff’s office spokesman Michael Terry said in a statement. “As with any incident such as this, an increased awareness is noted and deputies attempt to increase the amount of security checks at a particular location as time and call load permits.”
