A Miami woman is in custody after deputies say she opened fire during an altercation at a tow yard on Southeast Cove Road Friday afternoon, triggering a lockout at nearby Murray Middle School and a car chase that ended with a PIT maneuver on Cove Road near U.S. 1.
According to the WPTV, the woman had gone to the towing facility shortly after 1 p.m. to claim a car that had been towed there earlier that day. The Martin County Sheriff's Office says individuals in another car also arrived at the facility, and the two parties got into an altercation. The woman then fired multiple shots at the people in the other car before driving away, deputies said.
The sheriff's office activated an active-shooter response and placed Murray Middle School on lockout as road patrol deputies, aviation units, detectives and other personnel searched for the woman's car, per the station's report. Murray Middle School, located at 4400 SE Murray Street in Stuart, is associated with Port Salerno, according to the school's listing.
Lockout, Not Lockdown, Kept Classes Running
A lockout is distinct from a lockdown: it secures all exterior campus doors and restricts visitor entry while normal classroom instruction continues inside, whereas a lockdown requires students and staff to shelter in place due to an immediate internal threat, according to the Martin County School District. That distinction meant Murray Middle School students remained in class even as the search for the suspect's vehicle unfolded nearby.
Deputies eventually located the woman's car traveling on Cove Road near U.S. 1 and attempted a traffic stop, the report states. The driver fled, prompting deputies to perform a PIT maneuver that brought the vehicle to a stop. The tactic is a familiar one for the Martin County Sheriff's Office, which used a water-based version of the same maneuver in May to intercept a stolen $2.5 million yacht near Jupiter, according to REELZ.
Second Vehicle's Occupants Still Unaccounted For
The people who were allegedly shot at left the tow yard before deputies arrived, and it remains unclear whether any of them were struck by gunfire, per the original report. The woman was taken into custody and transported to the sheriff's office, where detectives questioned her. The sheriff's office said it planned to release additional information as it became available.
The incident unfolded one day after a new Florida law took effect that could shape any charges filed in the case. House Bill 757, signed earlier this year by Gov. Ron DeSantis, went into effect on October 1 and classifies intentionally firing a weapon or firearm within 1,000 feet of a school during school hours or a sanctioned school activity as a second-degree felony, according to NewsRadio WFLA. The tow yard is about a half-mile from Murray Middle School.
What Charges Could Follow
WPTV reported that Rondon faced two counts of aggravated assault with a firearm, discharging a firearm in public, aggravated fleeing and eluding, driving with a suspended license and felony criminal mischief.
Latest in a String of Campus Safety Scares
Friday's lockout adds to a run of school safety disruptions in Martin County this fall. In September, a 15-year-old was arrested after a bomb hoax emptied Martin County High School, following an earlier evacuation at the same campus over a separate threat.
