A 26-year-old Leesburg man is dead after two masked men pulled up outside a Tavares apartment complex early Sunday, shot him and sped away, according to police. De’Angelo Donta McKnight was found with a gunshot wound near Caroline Street at the Caroline Court Apartments and later died at the hospital, investigators said.
Tavares police received a call about a man who had been shot near Caroline Street at the Caroline Court Apartments and arrived to find McKnight wounded, according to WKMG/ClickOrlando. Preliminary police information indicates two masked men arrived in a vehicle, shot McKnight outside a residence, and then fled the scene. Police have described the circumstances as part of an active and ongoing investigation.
Police Ask Public for Tips as Investigation Continues
Tavares police are asking anyone with information to call the department’s non-emergency line at 352-343-2101. Tips can also be submitted anonymously to Crimeline at 1-800-423-TIPS (8477).
Second Deadly Shooting at the Same Complex Since 2022
This is not the first homicide investigators have worked at the Tavares complex. In April 2022, 29-year-old Alejandro Garcia Jr. was shot to death at what was then spelled Carolina Court Apartments, and that case remained unsolved as of the time the Daily Commercial reported on it. Separate reporting from InsideLake later detailed that two men were accused of shooting both Garcia and 31-year-old Darnell Lester at Caroline Court Apartments that same day, with Garcia dying of his injuries while Lester, shot multiple times, crashed his vehicle attempting to drive away. That earlier shooting took place at the complex's address of 1000 East Caroline Street, according to InsideLake.
Lake County has wrestled with a persistent homicide problem in recent years. The county logged 12 homicide investigations involving 16 victims through the first nine months of 2022 alone, with three months still remaining that year, according to the Daily Commercial's earlier count. That followed a 2018 total of 19 homicides countywide, which the same report described as a record at the time.
No information has been released identifying the two masked men, establishing whether anyone has been arrested, or detailing a motive in McKnight's killing. Tavares police say their investigation remains active, and anyone with information is urged to come forward.
