Police said the men exchanged gunfire in a driveway after returning from an evening spent socializing with friends.
PORT ST. LUCIE, FL — Two young men were killed early Sunday after an argument over house keys escalated into an exchange of gunfire outside a Port St. Lucie home, police said.
Officers responded at about 3:30 a.m. July 19 to several 911 calls reporting gunfire in the 1300 block of Southeast Rivergreen Circle. Police found 24-year-old Carl Loubeau and 22-year-old Juliun Stokes in the driveway with multiple gunshot wounds. Emergency crews took the men to separate hospitals, where both died.
Port St. Lucie police said their initial investigation showed that Loubeau and Stokes had been socializing with friends earlier in the night. The group later returned to the Rivergreen Circle home, where a verbal disagreement began over house keys and access to the residence. Investigators said the confrontation intensified until gunfire was exchanged.
Authorities had not released a detailed account Sunday explaining who first displayed or fired a weapon. Police also had not said how many firearms were recovered, how many shots were fired or whether either man lived at the home. Those issues remained part of the continuing investigation.
Several people were present during or around the time of the shooting, according to police. Investigators said all parties involved had been detained and were cooperating. Police did not announce any arrests or criminal charges and did not identify the other people who were questioned.
A nearby resident, Wanda O’Neil, told CBS12 that she was preparing for bed when she heard repeated bursts of gunfire. O’Neil said she initially did not know what caused the noise and then heard a second series of shots before the area became quiet.
O’Neil said she had lived in the Rivergreen Villas neighborhood for 17 years and had not experienced a similar incident there. The shooting occurred only a few homes away, she said, leaving her concerned about the violence in a neighborhood she described as normally quiet.
Police described the shooting as an isolated incident, indicating that investigators did not believe there was an ongoing threat to the surrounding community. Authorities did not release further information about the relationship between Loubeau and Stokes or explain why the disagreement over the keys became violent.
Detectives continued interviewing witnesses and reviewing evidence Sunday to establish a complete sequence of events. Police asked anyone with relevant information who had not already spoken with investigators to contact the Port St. Lucie Police Department.
Author note: Last updated July 19, 2026.