A shooting outside a Taco Bell on North County Line Road left one person hospitalized yesterday, with Plant City police confirming the injured individual actually placed a second 911 call after acknowledging some role in the gunfire. The wound, described as consistent with a gunshot injury, sent the victim to the hospital, and investigators say that person is now cooperating with detectives as they piece together what happened.
According to WFLA, Plant City police responded Monday to the Taco Bell at 371 N. County Line Road after reports of shots fired. Officers found one person suffering injuries consistent with a gunshot wound, and that person was taken to a hospital for treatment. The outlet reports that the injured party indicated their own involvement in the shooting and had made a second call to 911 — details that suggest investigators are still sorting out whether the person was a shooter, a victim, or something in between.
Police have not publicly named a suspect or described the circumstances that led to gunfire outside the fast-food restaurant. The department is asking anyone with information about the shooting to call 813-757-9200, and it will accept tips anonymously, per the same account.
A Fast-Growing Commercial Corridor Near the County Line
The Taco Bell sits in a 2,277-square-foot building constructed in 2023 on a nearly one-acre lot, according to Movoto property records, part of a busy commercial strip near the Polk County line. County Line Road itself marks the official boundary between Plant City in Hillsborough County and Lakeland in Polk County, per the Florida Department of Transportation, and the corridor carries heavy commercial and industrial traffic linking Interstate 4 and U.S. Highway 92 — a jurisdictional detail that can complicate investigations near the border.
Florida law offers two very different paths depending on what detectives ultimately determine happened. Under Florida Statute § 790.15, knowingly discharging a firearm in a public place or over a paved public road is a first-degree misdemeanor carrying up to a year in county jail and a $1,000 fine, according to the Florida Senate. But if the shooting instead falls under the state's Stand Your Ground law, Florida Statute § 776.012 allows a person to use or threaten deadly force without any duty to retreat if they reasonably believe it is necessary to prevent imminent death, great bodily harm, or a forcible felony, with Section 776.032 providing full immunity from criminal prosecution and civil liability for lawful defensive force.
Part of a Busy Year for Plant City Police
The Taco Bell shooting adds to a string of gun violence cases Plant City police have handled this year under Chief Richard Mills Jr., who took command of the department in mid-2024 after previously leading the Tampa Police Department's Special Operations Division. In May, officers arrested a convicted felon after a shooting near East Alabama and Lincoln Streets wounded one victim, and just a day later, detectives responded to a fatal vehicular shooting near West Baker Street and Thonotosassa Road that killed 45-year-old Jesus De La Cruz Hernandez, leading to the arrest of 19-year-old Kenny Morales-Garcia — a case Hoodline covered in Bullets Fly On Baker Street.
Just weeks before that, Hoodline reported on a separate case in which two mothers and two children were found dead in Plant City. Chief Mills publicly closed that investigation in August, confirming the four deaths across two addresses were the result of a murder-suicide committed by a 27-year-old mother, a determination that required 90 days of digital and video forensic work, according to FOX 13 Tampa Bay.
Plant City has grown quickly in recent years, with its population reaching roughly 43,000 in 2024, up from 39,764 residents counted in the 2020 census, according to USAFacts. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting data shows the city logged 162 violent crimes, including three homicides and 122 aggravated assaults, alongside 1,073 property crimes in a population of about 39,700, underscoring that aggravated assaults make up the bulk of violent offenses reported by local police.
For now, the circumstances behind the Taco Bell shooting remain unresolved. Police have not said whether the injured caller will face charges, and it is unclear whether investigators are treating the case as a possible self-defense incident, an accidental discharge, or something else entirely. Anyone with information is asked to contact Plant City police, who say tips can be submitted anonymously.
