Officials say the attack appears random and that no further danger to the community is expected.
OCALA, FL — A 64-year-old man was shot and killed Wednesday afternoon while gardening outside his home near Southeast 3rd Street and 11th Avenue, and officers quickly detained a 29-year-old man found walking nearby with a handgun, police said.
Ocala Police Chief Mike Balken said the case is being investigated as a homicide and appears to be a random act of violence. The victim was identified as Harold Whitt Harper. The man taken into custody is Isaac Ezekiel Toye, who faces one count of second-degree homicide and two counts of aggravated assault. Investigators said two 911 calls — first about a suspicious person, then about a shooting — came in within minutes. The rapid sequence brought officers into the neighborhood as the second call arrived, positioning them to locate a suspect blocks from the scene.
According to Balken, the first 911 call came shortly after 3:30 p.m. from a driver in the 900 block of SE 3rd Street who reported a man dressed in black trying to flag him down. The caller told dispatchers he saw the man manipulate what looked like a pistol. Within about three minutes, a second call reported gunfire about a block to the east. Officers already converging on the area found Harper wounded in the front yard of his home. He died from his injuries. As patrol units searched surrounding streets, an officer spotted a man matching the description walking two blocks south on SE 11th Avenue and detained him. “It appears [Harper] was doing nothing more than gardening in his front yard,” Balken said, calling the shooting “senseless.”
Police identified the detained man as Toye and said a pistol was recovered when he was stopped. Investigators said witness statements and physical evidence place him at both the suspicious-person call and the location where Harper was shot. Detectives said there is no indication Toye and Harper knew each other or had any interaction before the gunfire. Balken said there is no known motive at this stage. The chief added that Ocala officers have had minimal prior contact with Toye. While local records show no Ocala criminal history for him, authorities said they believe he has a record in the Tampa area. The department said there are no additional suspects and no broader threat to the neighborhood.
The shooting happened a short distance from Osceola Middle School in a residential area east of downtown. Streets around Southeast 3rd Street and 11th Avenue were temporarily blocked as crime scene technicians documented the front yard where Harper was found and canvassed for surveillance footage. Neighbors told officers they saw police arrive within moments of the first report. Harper’s wife had been in the yard with him shortly before the shooting, according to police. The location is a mix of older single-family homes and small side streets where afternoon foot traffic is common, particularly during school dismissal.
Toye was taken to the Ocala Police Department for questioning and later booked on one count of second-degree homicide and two counts of aggravated assault, according to authorities. Detectives said they are running ballistics tests and will review digital evidence from nearby home security systems. An initial court appearance and bond setting are expected in Marion County in the coming days. Police said they will release further updates once autopsy findings, lab reports, and any additional witness statements are processed. Officials said they intend to confer with the State Attorney’s Office on potential additional charges after evidence review.
By early evening, officers escorted Toye from police headquarters in handcuffs and transferred him to jail. Several residents gathered behind crime-scene tape as detectives took photographs, marked shell casings, and spoke with neighbors on porches. “There’s no indication this was a targeted attack,” Balken said, repeating that investigators believe the shooting was random. A nearby resident said she heard a single sharp crack and then sirens. Another neighbor described seeing officers moving on foot between yards and side streets, with patrol cars blocking intersections until the area was cleared.
As of Thursday morning, detectives had not released details about how many rounds were fired, where exactly the recovered pistol was found, or whether the firearm had been reported stolen. Police said the scene was processed and the streets reopened overnight. The department said its next update will address preliminary lab results and Toye’s first appearance schedule once it is set. Harper’s name will appear in the medical examiner’s autopsy report, which is pending. The investigation remains active, with additional interviews planned today and through the weekend.
Author note: Last updated January 8, 2026.