(© FlaglerLive)
A man fired two shots at a car leaving the parking lot outside Palm Coast’s Freeda Zamba pool Monday afternoon, next to Belle Terre Park. The pool grounds were still active with children enrolled in the city’s extended-hour camp, though the pool itself, normally open until 7 p.m., had closed a short time before the shooting because of bad weather and didn’t reopen that evening.
Two city employees and a few campers were still at the facility, and initially parents were briefly kept from picking up their children after the shooting. “There was a little time when they weren’t letting parents come in to pick up their children and that was because it was in the immediate aftermath when they were securing the scene,” a city spokesperson said today.
Soon after the shooting a deputy alerted staff and children to stay inside, then “kept watch over the whole situation and made sure the children got to their parents.”
The facility is currently home to the city’s Parks and Recreation department, moved there pending the completion of the reconstruction of the Palm Coast Community Center on Palm Coast Parkway. The facility was again in use later that evening, with karate classes. “By and large it didn’t affect the city’s camp operations or the pool or the park because it wasn’t in a high use,” the spokesperson said. “The sheriff’s deputies arrived right away, and we were aware.”
The incident took place shortly before 6 p.m. No one was injured. No one was arrested.
A 48-year-old Palm Coast resident who witnessed the incident told a Flagler County Sheriff’s deputy that he saw a dark-colored vehicle parked in the parking lot, its black occupant appearing to await the arrival of someone else. Then a silver Nissan arrived. A white man, about 5’5”, got out of the car and began arguing with the occupant of the dark sedan. After “some time arguing,” according to the sheriff’s incident report, the dark sedan backed up from its parking spot and fled the area at high speed.
At that point, the witness told the deputy, the white man pulled a gun and fired two shots in the direction of the speeding car, then got into the silver Nissan and began to pursue the vehicle, speeding as well. The Nissan turned onto Parkview Drive. The witness couldn’t tell whether any of the rounds struck the vehicle, “nor was he able to obtain a better description of the individuals involved due to the fact that he was trying to protect his sports team from the foul weather,” according to the sheriff’s report.
Several deputies canvassed the area in search of both vehicles involved, with sections of that area of the P Section briefly closed to traffic, but no cars matching the descriptions given at Freeda Zamba were found. All local Hospital Emergency Rooms were made aware of the situation and were asked to contact the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office if anyone with a gunshot wound was treated.
In the parking lot outside the pool, a deputy found two small caliber handgun casings in the through way of the parking lot, including “a spent .380 auto casing,” according to the report. “The second round, which was located near a parking spot, was still live and it too was a .380 auto round,” the deputy reported. A crime scene was established around the area.
The spent and live rounds were collected and submitted for evidence. “Their understanding of it is that the incident happened more down toward where the entrance to the park is,” the city spokesperson said.
Freeda Zambe’s summer hours are from 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays. It’s not clear if there is surveillance video anywhere on the park or pool properties.
There are no surveillance cameras on the grounds of the facility. Contacted Monday evening by a reporter about unusual activity in the area, a sheriff’s spokesperson seemed unaware of the shooting, reporting only that there’d been a disturbance, a suspicious incident and a crash with possible injuries in the P Section around that time. The sheriff’s incident issued this afternoon detailed the situation.
Anonymous says
Palm coast use to be so peaceful and now it’s going to become a trashy city if they keep allowing people like this into the city, so sad the more it grows the more trash keeps moving in😞
Hopeful says
Agreed. Lock’em Staly! Get the dirt bags out of our city!
ASF says
Drug dealing dispute, no doubt.
Katie Semore says
@Anonymous, be that it may, how do you suppose that Palm Coast not allow someone into the city? This is American and as long as we have liberty, we are free to go and live in whatever city, town, burg, or hamlet we please
Hopeful says
Trump can build a wall around Palm Coast and let Bunnell pay for it.
John dolan says
No surveilance cameras, opted for pay raise to Jim landon.
Whatever says
Katie. , let me know when the house next door to you is for sale. I will put it in for section 8 consideration. Thank you for being so kind!
Itsme says
This place needs a Police Department.
palmcoaster says
We have a drug dealing house were a wealthy elderly host what he calls “his caretakers”. The sheriff operative presence is seeing 10 times a month there but yet the elderly owner that with his addiction is the culprit of all the addicted females and young men that deal his drugs and use them as well, because the owner invites into his house he is never taken to jail, only his visitors are sometimes taken to jail some of them for months. Then when court hearings come to them our compassionate judges based on their outright lies let them go free on bail to proceed with their crimes while endangering our otherwise peaceful and safe community.
Meanwhile our sheriff wants over half million more just to serve Palm Coast above the over 2 millions extra we pay already and on top of our contribution to the sheriff within our county taxes. We are taken to the cleaners.
What about getting the extra money from these old addicted wealthy guys who’s houses the sheriff have to come with operatives 10 times a month, the over use and abuse of our law enforcement? When is the sheriff and our court system to take the bull by the horns and take in cases like this wealthy guy to jail for hosting and covering drug use, deals and trafficking in his house, also cooking meth? We are double punished as why we are requested more $$ for the sheriff services while enduring crime. Justice is not being served,
Anonymous says
You are right Katie but when they break into your home and kill your cat like they did to me how else do u expect me to feel
Sherry says
Hell NO. . . We don’t need no gun control!
palmcoaster says
Also, how come there are no surveillance cameras in our public facility for the protection of our children?
Sherry says
Watch out for those people with “SCUMBAG” stamped on their foreheads! Oh no. . . the “white” guy had the gun. . . . must be “fake news”!
Will says
Keep drinking the KoolAid and repeat after me: Guns keep us safe, guns keep us safe.
Layla says
Katie, you are as long as you obey the laws. If not, the Sheriff throws out his own welcome mat to the Green Roof Inn and hauls you away..
Katie Semore says
In this country we don’t push those who some believe to be undesirables into ghettos and it is up to the law enforcement and courts to arrest and remove criminals from our streets. It is not up to anyone to tell others, regardless of their religion, race, sex, etc. where they can be. I am truly sorry for those of you who have been victims of crime and understand why you may feel as you do, even if it doesn’t make it right. Our laws and rules are not and should not be based on emotions but rather fairness and freedoms. If you had a loved one who was killed in an automobile accident because someone was texting would you say that vehicles and cell phones should no longer exist? Or if you had someone close to you die from diabetes would you outlaw all sugar from your city? Some go as far as to suggest that because someone is poor that they are also criminals and that simply is not the case. People and their children who have plenty also criminal, drug users, and undesirables in polite society. I suggest that we all watch our prejudices and keep them in check and remember this is the United States and the freedom that affords.
Dave says
They want more money for more cops yet they do not even have cameras in public areas to protect the citizens. And this is America so if you do not like the people who live where you live,You move, you can not dictate who may live where but you are more than free to move about the country till you find your home
Mark101 says
@ Dave , so Dave how do you suppose to pay for these cameras at all public areas, do you realize how many cameras that would be and how many “observers it would take to even monitor those cameras. You going to fund this bright idea. I’m not sure the people of Palm Coast are going to accept being taxed for city wide cameras and personnel to observe them.
Freddy says
If you want cameras speak to Jim Landon he can hook you up with a company that has a lot of unused cameras.
The Truth says
There are some incredibly dense and asinine comments being made here. It seems anytime something happens in Palm Coast it’s the same comments:
1. I remember when these things didn’t happen in Palm Coast.
2. We need cameras everywhere.
3. We need more police presence throughout the city.
The fact of the matter is that we are a city of approximately 100,000 residents. There is going to be crime. Overall, the crime in this city is very low compared to surrounding areas and the FCSO does a great job. Are there improvements to be made? Absolutely, but that doesn’t mean we should assume everything is horrible. I couldn’t agree more with Katie.
mark101 says
@ Truth can you provide a link of where you got those Palm Coast Population results. All I find is around 77,068 and that’s from the City website. Flagler County as a whole around 108,310
palmcoaster says
The Truth you are describing very long ago past times like almost when I arrived here in 1991…we were about 28,000 -30,000 only and was beautiful and of course less crime. But like with all changes don’t arrive to make things better but worst…and if cameras are a way to record incidents to help catch delinquents and by doing so be a deterrent and offer more protection for our residents and specially our children then “install them”.
And I agree with you that still Palm Coast is much better than some neighboring cities but also for the same reason we need to prevent crime when possible other than cure, to preserve the better city we have. The example I mentioned above taking place in our block, is something that took place lately not back then in the early 90’s.
Dave says
It’s laughable you would think the cameras would monitored. They are to be able to go back and get details of the crime silly. I would expect the Sheriffs office to pay for the cameras. After all these cameras will do the work of 500 cops.
Hmmm says
@mark101
Census had Palm Coast just over 75,000 in 2010. It had it at just over 85,000 in 2016. Google it, Census, whatever.
Trailer Park Nation says
Maybe those shots were to get the swim teams moving?