1-year-old baby shot in West Cocoa drive-by; teen arrested, suspects still at large

Cocoa on edge as 3 suspects in shooting remain at Large

A neighborhood in Cocoa is reeling as authorities search for three suspects accused of opening fire in broad daylight, leaving a 1-year-old girl critically injured after being caught in the crossfire.

ORLANDO, Fla. - The child wounded in Tuesday’s grocery store parking lot shootout in West Cocoa is now confirmed to be a 1-year-old, not a 2-year-old as initially reported, according to the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office.

What happened?

What we know:

Around 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, three men jumped out of a black Mercedes and opened fire on another man, now identified as a 17-year-old, who was with a woman pushing a child in a stroller. The incident took place outside Cocoa Meat & Produce on South Burnett Road in West Cocoa.

The woman ran to seek cover but returned to find the child had been shot, surveillance video shows.

The 1-year-old baby girl who was seated in the stroller, was shot during the crossfire. She sustained a gunshot wound to the pelvis from one of the more than 50 rounds fired during the exchange.

She was rushed to Arnold Palmer Hospital in Orlando and underwent surgery. She is expected to survive.

Teen arrested, still considered victim

New Information:

The male who was with the child and her mother has now been arrested. The 17-year-old is charged with possession of a firearm but is still considered a victim in the case, as he was also shot at during the incident.

2-year-old Cocoa girl shot outside market, police investigating

A 2-year-old girl was shot outside a market in Cocoa Tuesday. FOX 35's Chancelor Winn was live at the scene with the latest information.

Ongoing investigation

What we don't know:

The three gunmen — described as wearing a white tank top, black tank top, and blue t-shirt — remain at large.

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Brevard County Sheriff's Office released surveillance images of the suspects. Source: BCSO

Authorities have not released the identities of the suspects or confirmed whether the shooting was targeted. Authorities have yet to determine who fired the first shot or what sparked the shootout.

Authorities are still investigating the motive behind the shooting, the relationship between the parties, and who fired first.

It's also unclear what relationship, if any, exists between the shooters and the man being targeted. The woman who fled during the shooting and left the baby behind has not been publicly identified, and her role in the incident remains under investigation.

"These individuals don't care about anything, they are evil"

What they're saying:

Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey says the shooting happened in a crowded parking lot.

"These individuals don't care about anything, they are evil, and they are not only putting a toddler at risk, but there are other people around," said Ivey. "You are talking about 1:30, broad open daylight, so this is just a whole bunch of individuals acting stupid and doing very stupid thing."

Ivey says investigators are still trying to figure out why the shootout happened and who fired the first shots.

2-year-old shot in Cocoa: Press conference

Brevard County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Tod Goodyear provides an update on a shoot-out that left a 2-year-old girl hurt.

"We don’t know who fired first, but we will be able to piece that together. There were a lot of different people around," said Ivey. "You can see in the video, but oddly enough, nobody knows anything. Nobody has any input."

Brevard County Sheriff’s Public Information Officer, Tod Goodyear, says investigators believe there was some type of feud between the four men.

"It appears that there is some kind of an issue between these two parties," said Ivey. "We don’t know what it is and why it escalated to what it did today."

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