A morning coffee run turned into a day one North Port man will never forget. He was sitting outside Wawa on U.S. 41 and Cornelius Boulevard, on the phone, when gunfire erupted in the parking lot.
At the time of this interview, the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office hadn't announced anyone was in custody so the witness requested his identity stay private. Since then, CCSO shared that deputies will be arresting Anthony Gooden after his release from the hospital.
"I was 15 feet away from the entire thing," he said. "There were quite a few people there first thing in the morning."
He said the altercation began between two men when Gooden stabbed and then shot another man. The witness said the other man fired back, and the shootout ensued.
"I just sat down, went down low and then popped my little head up and watched where they were," the man said. "Kind of freaking out a little bit because the bullets literally are going by you about 15 feet away. You can you can see it, feel it, hear it, and you can smell the gunpowder."
He explained Gooden, who was shot in the back, ran across the street to the wooded area next to the RaceTrac. Only then did he and others approach the man who was stabbed, shot and bleeding.
"We're looking at him, and he had blood all over him. So, apparently, he was stabbed in the chest. He was shot in the chest or abdomen. I couldn't tell; there was so much blood," the witness said.
Deputies from Charlotte County, plus North Port Police officers, flooded the area. K9s and helicopters both searched. Authorities found Gooden soon after. Both he and the other man involved were taken to the hospital for treatment.
The witness said it's a miracle no one in the busy Wawa parking lot got hit by a passing bullet.
"I'm very fortunate. You know, a little a few feet over a little bit. You know, the guys swinging the gun around, shooting multiple directions. It could have just come my way. So, you know, God blessed me. Gave me another day," the man said.