St. Petersburg Police are trying to find the person responsible for shooting and killing a 19-year-old Monday night.
- Emmanuel Sims, 19, died Monday evening
- Police say he was sitting in a car with two others when shots rang out
- According to reports, no one else was injured
The streets in front of the Rajax Food Mart on the corner of MLK and 24th Avenue S. in St. Petersburg were filled with onlookers and police. It's where investigators found Emmanuel Sims, 19, after he was shot while sitting inside of a car just after 6:30 Monday night with two other individuals.
Police said they made contact with a person known to Sims. That person fired at the vehicle and wounded Sims. He was pronounced dead at the scene shortly before 7 p.m.
“We don’t believe it was a drive-by," said St. Petersburg Police Assistant Chief Jim Previter. "We know that he knew or made contact with his shooter in the parking lot and whoever shot him that he knew the individual, or at least had reason to come in contact with the individual, and that the shooting occurred in the car."
His family is heartbroken.
“He had a promising future," said Sims' stepmother, Monica Macintosh. "He had his whole life ahead of him and somebody else is gonna lose a family member when it all comes down to it. Because they’re going go to prison and you’re going to have another family hurting and we’re hurting. I just wish we’d do things differently. Whatever problem they had, I wish they could’ve come to the table and talked about it and found a solution instead of this, because this is final.”
There are a number of businesses surrounding the scene and police said they plan to check surveillance cameras of all of the business.
They’re hoping it will help them track down the person responsible.