Investigation into incident continues
As of late last week, the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office was continuing its investigation into an Aug. 20 shooting during which one person died, The Sarasota News Leader has learned.
A narrative of the incident, which the News Leader obtained through a formal public records request with the agency, notes that when officers arrived at the scene, they observed a black female who was lying on her back on the sidewalk outside the apartment complex located in the 2600 block of Twin Drive in north Sarasota.
Her name was redacted from the report.
The report identifies the location as 2642 Twin Drive, where the Rolling Green Apartments stand.
The woman “was sporadically moving and flaying her arms,” the narrative says. She was lying “in a large pool of blood,” the narrative continues; it appeared that she had been shot in the chest.
After removing her shirt, the narrative says, deputies found “a small entry wound on the right shoulder area,” which looked as though it had been made by a gunshot.
As they administered emergency first aid, the writer of the narrative adds, the female “was in a state of delusion [and] constantly in and out of [consciousness]. I was attempting to conduct small talk with [her] to keep her awake,” the officer wrote, but she kept saying, “I can’t breathe.”
When an EMS unit arrived, the paramedics took over the lifesaving measures while the officer who wrote the narrative stayed “with a possible witness,” the narrative adds. That individual, whose name also was redacted, “was extremely distraught and had blood coming from his mouth and bottom lip,” the narrative continues. “He had blood splatter on his shoes and on his blue jean pants,” it adds.
The individual told the deputy “that he believed he was hit in the face with a phone or a heavy object.”
Later, the narrative notes, that person “became incomprehensible and could not articulate any further [details about] what transpired.” He became weak “and started to stumble around” before sitting down and fainting, the narrative says.
EMS personnel treated him, as well, and then transported him to Sarasota Memorial Hospital, the narrative adds.
At 2:05 a.m., approximately 35 minutes after the incident was reported, the narrative continues, EMS personnel pronounced the female dead at the scene.
All the other details of the report were redacted in the copy the News Leaderreceived.
No further information was available prior to the deadline for this issue of the News Leader.