ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – Two people have died after they were shot Tuesday night in the parking lot of a St. Augustine condo complex, according to the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office.
The shooting was reported just before 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Florida Club Condominiums near Florida Club Boulevard, which is off State Road 16, deputies said.
Both victims -- a young man and young woman -- were taken to local hospitals in critical condition and later died, St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Chuck Mulligan said. He declined to provide any details about the victims' ages, citing Marsy’s Law, but close friends identified the victims as 21-year-old Kyle Stein. They said his girlfriend, Sydney, also died.
Less than an hour after the shooting, deputies said, the suspected shooter who ran from the scene was found in a retention pond about a mile away near Scheidel Way and North St. Johns Street.
Deputies said multiple witnesses identified Anfernee Wilson, 19, as the shooter who ran from the parking lot. Wilson, a former standout football player at St. Augustine High School who had a drug arrest last year, was booked into the St. Johns County jail just before 4 a.m. Wednesday and is being held without bond on a felony homicide and a felony weapons charge.
At a news conference Wednesday afternoon, Mulligan said Wilson will be facing a second homicide charge but he has not yet been formally charged.
Dive teams and investigators from St. Johns, Duval and Clay counties could be seen Wednesday at a command center as they fanned out to search ponds and wooded areas for evidence. K-9 units were also being brought in for the search. As of now, the Sheriff’s Office has not said what prompted the search, but the arrest report made no mention of a gun being recovered when Wilson was arrested -- a detail that would usually be included if one was found.
Deputies said the search for evidence may take another day or two and they could search another pond.
According to Wilson’s arrest report, witnesses told detectives that a man with a handgun was seen chasing a black pickup that was speeding through the parking lot at the condo complex. They said the truck changed direction and started driving at the man with the gun before it crashed into a parked vehicle.
Witnesses said after the crash, the man fired four to six shots into the truck, then removed some items from the truck’s cab and ran away toward a nearby golf course.
Before the victims were taken from the scene, several witnesses tried to provide emergency aid, and one of the victims told those witnesses the shooter’s name was Anfernee, deputies said.
One of the witnesses, who was a friend of Stein’s, described the aftermath of the violence.
“When I pulled up, I saw a body on the ground, black truck -- doors open, so there is two ladies over this one body. So I jumped out my car -- and I go over there to start trying to help," Ronald Owens said. “The girl was in and out of consciousness.”
Deputies received at least ten 911 calls.
“We need police and we need an ambulance,” one caller can be heard saying.
Mulligan said it appeared the victims and the suspect knew each other to some extent.
“It seems that they had some acquaintance level with each other,” he said. “To what degree and how in-depth that was, we will hold to ourselves as we try to gather information.”
There was no immediate word on a motive.
“We have some theories behind the scenes. We have some evidence that may support it," Mulligan said. "We won’t throw out any type of motive publicly, but yes, we do have some information to support certain theories and we’re going to continue on with that until we’ve exhausted all those possibilities as well.”
Stein’s friends gathered Wednesday at the scene, where there was a growing memorial for the victims.
“He was a good guy. Loved by everybody, you know?” Andrew Harp said. “It’s unreal to me.”
“He was a real good friend. He would give the shirt off his back for anybody,” Carmen Tedder said. “We just want to tell him I love him.”
Friends said there will be a candlelight vigil at the condo complex at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, which would have been Stein’s birthday.