From Immokalee to Naples, Collier County saw several shooting incidents over the long Thanksgiving weekend.
It started early Thursday morning at Miner's Supermarket, a gas station and convenience store across the street from the entrance to the Seminole Casino in Immokalee. The occupants of a Nissan Altima and a pickup truck had strong words with each other in the parking lot, after the truck apparently parked too close to the car. The Nissan then took off southbound on Immokalee Road.
But the pickup caught up the car, and cut in front of it, causing the car to stop. The driver of the truck then got out to confront the people in the Nissan, and the car pulled away. That's when deputies say Abel Valdez-Soto, 31, fired shots in the air from inside the car. He's charged with discharging a firearm from a vehicle.
Then Friday night around 7 p.m., Naples Police responded to a domestic violence call at the Cove Inn on Naples Bay. Police said that the man involved brandished a weapon, and an officer shot the man, who was conscious when he was taken by MedFlight to Lee Memorial Hospital. The officer was placed on administrative leave.
"We heard the shots while we were sitting on the balcony," said Bill Morrison, who was staying at the nearby Charter Club Resort. "It doesn't happen in this place, you know? Everything's so nice and tranquil."
A third shooting happened Sunday morning. A spokeswoman with the Collier County Sheriff's Office said that deputies responded to reports of a shooting in the parking garage at the Mercato, a shopping and dining center at the northeast corner of Vanderbilt Beach Road and U.S. 41 in North Naples.
A female victim was treated and released with minor injuries, the spokeswoman said. An arrest was made, but their identity will likely not be released until Monday morning.
A Naples Police spokesman said there may be more details released Monday afternoon regarding the officer-involved shooting at the Cove Inn.
