Three adults were shot inside a home in the 2100 block of 3rd Avenue East late Sunday night, and Manatee County deputies say they believe the attack was targeted. All three victims are expected to recover, but no arrests have been made as the investigation continues.
Manatee County deputies responded to a 911 call reporting multiple people shot shortly before 10 p.m. on August 9, according to the Manatee County Sheriff's Office. When deputies arrived, they found three adults who had been shot inside the home, and the victims were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. The shooting occurred in the Memphis community near Palmetto, an unincorporated part of Manatee County.
Investigators believe the shooting was a targeted incident, though they have not released information about potential suspects or a motive. The sheriff's office said no additional details are currently available for release, and the investigation remains active.
A Block With a Violent Past
This is not the first act of gun violence on this exact stretch of 3rd Avenue East. In December 2020, 32-year-old Jamaal Brooks was found shot to death behind a home on the same block, a case that, per FOX 13 Tampa Bay's earlier reporting, has never resulted in an arrest. The recurrence of gunfire on this specific street adds a troubling backdrop to Sunday night's shooting, even though investigators have not indicated the two incidents are connected.
Memphis itself is a small, unincorporated census-designated place bordering Palmetto, with a population just over 9,000 spread across roughly 3.68 square miles, according to Wikipedia. Because it has no municipal government or city police department, law enforcement responsibility for the community falls to Sheriff Rick Wells and the Manatee County Sheriff's Office rather than the Palmetto Police Department.
County Crime Trends Complicate the Picture
The shooting comes even as countywide numbers point in the opposite direction. Manatee County Sheriff's Office figures released earlier this year showed overall crime dropping 19.7% in 2025, with violent crime down 22.6% and aggravated assaults falling 23.6% countywide, as previously reported by Hoodline. Even so, isolated targeted attacks like Sunday's continue to challenge investigators working the county's violent-crime caseload.
Manatee County has seen a string of targeted shootings this year. In March, Hoodline reported on a fatal drive-by in nearby Bradenton that left one man dead and another injured at a traffic light, prompting an extensive multi-agency search. And in April, Manatee County deputies assisted Tampa Police in capturing two teenage suspects hiding at a Parrish construction site after a targeted firearm attack in Tampa injured two people, according to the Tampa Police Department.
Legal Stakes If Suspects Are Charged
Should investigators identify and charge a suspect, Florida's 10-20-Life law under Florida Statute § 775.087 imposes steep mandatory minimums for gun crimes. Discharging a firearm during a qualifying felony carries a mandatory minimum of 20 years in prison, and causing great bodily harm escalates that minimum to 25 years to life without parole eligibility, according to the Law Offices of Robert David Malove. Separately, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon under Florida Statute § 784.045(2) is a second-degree felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison and a $10,000 fine per count, per Hanlon Law. Manatee County juries have shown a willingness to hand down severe sentences in similar cases; just days before this shooting, a Manatee County jury convicted a driver of attempted second-degree murder and multiple firearm counts in a 2024 road-rage shooting that wounded a pregnant passenger, a case that carries up to 101 years in state prison, according to Bradenton Patch.
How to Help the Investigation
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Manatee County Sheriff's Office at 941-747-3011. Tipsters who wish to remain anonymous can call Manatee County Crime Stoppers at 866-634-TIPS (8477), which may offer a cash reward for information leading to an arrest — a program that has offered rewards up to $3,000 in past cases, sometimes supplemented by state programs for larger combined payouts, according to WTSP.
