Suspect taken into custody after shootout at Sumter County truck stop

SUMTER COUNTY, Fla. — One person was taken into custody after an exchange of gunfire a busy Sumter County truck stop Wednesday morning.

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Deputies responded to the Spirit Truck Stop on County Road 470 E in Lake Panasoffkee just before noon for reports of shots fired.

The sheriff’s office released surveillance video of the incident showing the primary aggressor, identified as 28-year-old Dequan Scott, pulling into the parking lot and firing a gun at a car sitting at one of the pumps.

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Deputies say multiple people from the target vehicle then appear to return fire towards Scott’s car, striking one of his tires as he fled the parking lot.

According to the sheriff’s office, Scott continued to the Planned Pethood approximately a half-mile away from the truck stop and was blocked in by deputies there to prevent a pursuit.

See a map of the area below:

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Scott was taken to the hospital to be treated for a non-life-threatening gunshot wound to the arm sustained during the exchange of gunfire at the truck stop.

According to the sheriff’s office, before Wednesday’s shooting, Scott had multiple felony warrants out for his arrest from an incident in Royal the previous night in which he was involved in another running gunfight near the Wildwood Community Center.

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Investigators recovered 26 spent rounds from the scene of that incident. They’re still working to determine whether the targets of the shooting at the truck stop were the same people involved in the overnight shooting incident in Royal.

Scott was booked into the Sumter County Jail Wednesday on warrants for charges that include possession of a firearm and ammunition by a felon, grand theft of a motor vehicle, and multiple drug-related offenses.

The sheriff’s office is asking anyone with information on the case, or who may know the identify of the other driver involved in the shooting at the truck stop to contact them at (352) 793-2621. Information can also be relayed anonymously through Crimeline at 1-800-423-8477.

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