A 21-year-old woman is recovering after being shot four times inside a unit at the Riverpark Apartments in Cocoa on Wednesday, and neighbors say a fast-acting resident may be the reason she is still alive. Police said the woman's boyfriend was tracked down the next day and taken into custody. Investigators say the victim is expected to survive, and detectives are still working to determine what led up to the gunfire.
Neighbor says he stopped the bleeding
Dwayne Hawkins, who lives at Riverpark Apartments, rushed into the apartment before paramedics got inside and did what he could to keep the woman alive. Hawkins said he grabbed towels and used them to improvise tourniquets to slow heavy bleeding.
"I just went in and got some towels and tried to make a tourniquet on her leg and then her chest," Hawkins stated, as reported by ClickOrlando. He added that keeping the woman as calm as possible felt just as important as stemming the blood loss while they waited for medics.
Police: boyfriend arrested, charged with attempted murder
Cocoa police told ClickOrlando they located 19-year-old Guy Potter in Cocoa yesterday and arrested him on an attempted murder charge. Lt. Bryan Stillwell said Potter was not answering investigators' questions, and detectives have not released any motive.
The station also reported that investigators had previously tied Potter to a separate September incident in Rockledge in which shots were fired into an apartment building. According to the outlet, those earlier charges were later dropped.
Investigation and tips for witnesses
Police say an arrest report will be made public as the case progresses. Anyone who saw or heard anything that could help detectives is asked to contact the Cocoa Police Criminal Investigations Division at (321) 637-6330, according to the City of Cocoa. The Riverpark Apartments complex lists its address as 1305 N Fiske Blvd in Cocoa on its property website.
Help and resources
If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 911. Local advocates at Serene Harbor operate a 24/7 confidential hotline at 321-726-8282, and the Florida Domestic Violence Hotline is available statewide at 1-800-500-1119.
