FORT WALTON BEACH — Authorities are investigating yet another shooting in Okaloosa County.
Emergency responders were called out to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard around 10:20 a.m. Wednesday after a man said the vehicle he was riding in was shot at, according to a news release from the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office.
The caller, who is from Fort Walton Beach, was airlifted to Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola with a head injury, according to Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Michele Nicholson.
He was shot, but Nicholson did not clarify where on his body. She said he was in stable condition by mid-afternoon Wednesday.
The driver of the vehicle was uninjured, but mutiple shots were fired, Nicholson added.
Traffic in the northbound lanes of MLK remained shut down in front of Commando Village for close to two hours while authorities processed the crime scene. Canines and metal detectors were used. Hurlburt Field also shut down back gate traffic until MLK reopened around 12:20 p.m.
Deputies did identify a vehicle of interest shortly after the shooting was reported, but no arrests have been made.
No arrests have been made to date, but deputies made contact with a vehicle that matched the description given by witnesses, Nicholson said.
The vehicle was stopped on Earl Drive, off of Lovejoy Road in Fort Walton Beach.
“I think there’s a theory, I don’t know as far as connecting all the dots,” she said.
This is the eighth shooting incident reported in Okaloosa County in the last eight months, including a fatal one on Tuesday.
Anyone with information should contact Emerald Coast Crime Stoppers at 850-863-TIPS.
