A man was hospitalized after being shot at a Marathon gas station in Pompano Beach Thursday evening, and investigators say they located and detained a possible suspect as the case remains under investigation. Broward County Regional Communications received a report of a shooting shortly before 7:45 p.m. at 220 South Dixie Highway, sending deputies and fire rescue crews rushing to the scene.
Deputies arrived to find a man who had been shot, according to WPLG Local 10. Pompano Beach Fire Rescue transported the victim to an area hospital for treatment, while Broward Sheriff's Office crime scene and robbery units began investigating the shooting. A possible suspect was located and detained by investigators, though the case remains open as detectives continue piecing together what happened.
The Marathon station sits along South Dixie Highway, a heavily trafficked commercial corridor lined with retail and service businesses that has functioned as a gas station and commercial site for years, per Florida Division of Corporations records. Critical trauma victims from Pompano Beach are routinely taken to Broward Health North in neighboring Deerfield Beach, the region's designated adult Level II trauma center, according to Broward Health.
What Charges Could Follow
If prosecutors ultimately file charges, Florida's so-called 10-20-Life law under Florida Statute § 775.087 mandates a minimum 20-year prison sentence for discharging a firearm during a forcible felony, a term that can climb to 25 years to life if the shooting caused great bodily harm, according to the Florida Senate. Aggravated battery with a deadly weapon is a second-degree felony carrying up to 15 years in prison under Florida Statutes § 784.045, while armed robbery with a firearm under § 812.13 is a first-degree felony punishable by up to life in prison. BSO's deployment of both robbery and crime scene units suggests investigators are weighing multiple possible charges as they build the case.
This is not the first violent shooting BSO has investigated along the Dixie Highway corridor this year. In April, homicide and crime scene units responded after a man was found dead in the 1600 block of North Dixie Highway, and municipal crime data cited by Medium places Pompano Beach's violent crime rate at roughly 4.88 incidents per 1,000 residents, above both the Florida state median of 2.59 and the national average of 4.0.
A Contract Under Scrutiny
The shooting lands at a politically charged moment for policing in Pompano Beach. City leaders launched a formal feasibility review earlier this year to evaluate ending their long-running contract with the Broward Sheriff's Office and reviving an independent municipal police department, as annual BSO contract costs were projected to climb to $72.8 million in 2026 from $53 million in 2022, according to CBS News. BSO has provided contracted policing for the city since merging with its former police department in 1999.
Neighboring Deerfield Beach already made the leap, with its city commission voting in March to exit its BSO contract and build independent police and fire departments, setting a regional precedent other northern Broward cities are now watching closely. Anyone with information about Thursday's shooting is asked to call Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS or submit a tip through the statewide P3 Tips app, where tipsters can remain anonymous and qualify for a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to an arrest.
