DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Daytona Beach police are still on the hunt for killers following three homicides that all occurred within two weeks of each other in a 1-mile radius.
Police Chief Craig Capri said while the shootings aren't believed to be related, it still bothers him that there haven't been any arrests.
"We don't want bad guys in our city, so we've stepped up our efforts with our violent crime initiative," Capri said during a press conference Friday. "You have a couple of street thugs that want to take over the streets (and) we are not going to let that happen."
The first of the three happened on Nov. 17. Police said Sammy Watson had just parked his car outside his home when a man came up to him and asked for money. When Watson said no, the man shot him.
Watson died at the hospital days later.
Officials said the second homicide came Nov. 23, when 18-year-old Eric Gordon was shot in the head while driving his car. Gordon's car then went through a fence and crashed into Campbell Middle School.
The most recent homicide was a drive-by shooting that claimed the life of Fausto Hernandez as he was eating dinner with his family Nov. 27.
The chief said he couldn't go into details about the shootings, but said that in at least one case, the suspect knew the victim.
Police have increased their patrols in several areas around town as they work to make arrests.
"We are not going to stop until we clear these cases," Capri said.
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