HOLMES BEACH – Shots were fired, but who fired them and exactly where they were fired remains a mystery after all of the Island’s three police departments participated in the search for the shooter.
The incident began on Feb. 10 at 10:03 p.m. when Holmes Beach Police Department (HBPD) Officer Chris Bennett was getting into his patrol car at the HBPD station and heard two gunshots coming from the south nearby. Bennett advised dispatch of the shots and requested that Officer Ryan Welch respond to the area, believing the shots came from the area of the Waterline Hotel, 5325 Marina Drive, or the area of 5200 Gulf Drive.
While searching around the Waterline, Bennett spoke with a bystander who said she had not heard the shots, and he found no physical evidence of the shots coming from that area. At the same time, Welch was checking the parking lot in the area of D Coy Ducks bar across the street. An employee of the bar told Welch he had also heard the shots, and thought they had come from the area near Hurricane Hanks restaurant, 5410 Marina Drive, possibly behind the building on the 52nd Street side of the business.
Shortly after, HBPD dispatch got a call from a concerned citizen in the area of 46th Street who also heard the shots nearby, but couldn’t provide an exact location.
Officers Bennett and Welch went on foot to check the beach access parking lot at 100 52nd St.
“While checking the parking lot, we heard two additional gunshots very close to our south,” Bennett said in his official report. “They were possibly coming from the 50th Street beach access area.”
Officers from the Bradenton Beach Police Department (BBPD) and Manatee County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) arrived at the scene to assist in the search.
“I deployed my agency-issued AR-15 rifle, and Officer Welch deployed his agency-issued shotgun,” Bennett said in his report. “Along with the aforementioned law enforcement officers from neighboring agencies, conducted a thorough check until approximately 10:45 p.m. of the area between 47th Street and 52nd Street while on foot.”
An MCSO helicopter was requested but was not available to assist at the time. After an extensive ground search, no suspect could be located by officers. There were no gunshot wound victims that night, and no related property damage was reported. Anyone with information on the incident should contact the Holmes Beach Police Department.
