Investigators recovered dozens of shell casings and reported damage to several vehicles after a night of gunfire.
APOPKA, FL — A late-night shooting in an Orange County neighborhood left four men injured Thursday as dozens of rounds were fired along a residential street, sending neighbors ducking for cover inside their homes.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office is currently searching for suspects following the incident, which investigators described as a targeted attack rather than a random act of violence. The shooting took place around 9:20 p.m. in the 200 block of West 12th Street, an area that remained a focus of forensic activity well into the following morning. While the motive remains unclear, the scale of the gunfire has drawn significant concern from local officials and the surrounding community.
Deputies arrived at the scene to find two men suffering from gunshot wounds, both of whom were immediately transported to a local hospital for emergency treatment. Shortly after the initial response, authorities were notified that two additional men had arrived at a nearby hospital in private vehicles seeking treatment for related injuries. The four victims range in age from 21 to 48. One relative of the victims, who was babysitting nearby when the shots began, said her brother was struck multiple times in the stomach and leg, while her cousin sustained a head wound. “We need to get them off the streets,” the woman said as her family members underwent surgery Friday. “Innocent people are getting hurt.”
The scene on West 12th Street was marked by a heavy police presence for more than 12 hours as crime scene investigators photographed and collected evidence. Dozens of yellow evidence markers dotted the pavement, identifying spent shell casings that spanned the width of the roadway. Several trucks parked along the curb were riddled with bullet holes, though no residents inside the adjacent homes were reported injured. Investigators also focused on a second location approximately a quarter-mile away, where a white Infiniti Q50 was towed for processing. One individual was detained at that secondary site, though the sheriff’s office has not yet confirmed if that person is a suspect or directly connected to the shooting.
Residents described a chaotic scene, with the sound of rapid gunfire interrupting a typical Thursday night. Douglas Moody, a local resident who was preparing for bed at the time of the attack, said the volume of shots was startling. He noted that the proximity of the gunfire to the houses was particularly dangerous, observing that bullets could easily penetrate the walls of the homes. The neighborhood remained cordoned off for much of Friday as deputies conducted door-to-door interviews and searched for any available surveillance footage from home security systems that might have captured the vehicles or individuals involved.
The shooting is the latest in a series of violent incidents in the region, coming just weeks after a separate shooting involving four juveniles in the nearby Parramore neighborhood. Local records indicate that while Apopka has seen various crime-reduction initiatives, the use of high-capacity gunfire in residential areas remains a primary challenge for law enforcement. The Orange County Sheriff’s Office has not released descriptions of any suspect vehicles or individuals, stating that they do not want to compromise the ongoing investigation by releasing preliminary details. No formal charges have been announced against the individual detained near the Infiniti.
Looking forward, the investigation remains in an active phase as detectives wait for more comprehensive ballistics reports. Officials have scheduled additional patrols for the area to provide a visible presence as the community recovers from the night of violence. Medical updates on the four victims have not been provided since Friday, though all were reported to be alive following their initial surgeries. The sheriff’s office is urging anyone with information to contact the department or remain anonymous through Crimeline.
As of Sunday evening, no arrests have been formally logged in connection with the four shootings on West 12th Street. Forensic teams are expected to continue processing the evidence recovered from the street and the seized vehicle throughout the week.
Author note: Last updated March 8, 2026.