Victim identified in deadly Port Charlotte shooting that sparked manhunt for the suspected gunman

CHARLOTTE COUNTY, Fla. —

A man who was killed in a Port Charlotte shooting that led to a manhunt for the suspected gunman, Matthew Ryan Cross, on Monday has been identified.

The Charlotte County Sheriff's Office said they responded to the area of Malone Avenue at approximately 12:30 p.m. on Monday after receiving a call about a person being shot.

The sooting victim has now been identified as Charles Van Di Veir Anderson, 79, who died from his wounds, and Cross was identified as the suspect.

After approximatly an hour later, two community policing deputies were doing bicycle patrols in Port Charlotte near Kenilworth Boulevard and Yorkshire Street, when people from a homeless camp said Cross was in the woods and pointed a gun at them.

Charlotte County Sheriff Bill Prummell said two deputies went into the woods, Cross shot at them, and the deputies fired back.

Later, Cross came out of the woods near Hillsborough Boulevard, and Prummell said five North Port police officers and two CCSO deputies then shot and killed Cross.

Gulf Coast News confirmed that Cross had a criminal history. One of his recent cases happened in 2023, where he was charged with burglary and grand theft of a firearm.

Cross was deemed "incompetent to proceed", and court documents showed he suffered from a traumatic brain injury and mental health symptoms.

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