Police say the suspect walked into the Tropical Smoothie Cafe, confronted the man who was complaining and then shot him in the face before running off.
“Oh my God, I had no clue,” says Bambi Penn, who has lived in Ft. Pierce her entire life. She says she has never heard of anything like this.
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“That is crazy especially for it to happen right here, everybody knows each other,” Penn says.
Detectives say just before 3:30 p.m. Sunday, a 39-year-old man, who is a regular at the Tropical Smoothie Cafe off Okeechobee Road, was inside the shop and ordered an item that is no longer on the menu. Detectives say employees were trying to figure out how to make the item when the customer began complaining.
“He appeared to be vociferous, he was on a rant, complaining about the wait time for his order,” says Mike Jachles, Fort Pierce Police Department public information officer.
Police say he continued to complain about the slow service when another man walked into the café and confronted him, and then shot the disgruntled customer once in the face, hitting him in the jaw.
“Somebody came in and shot someone because they were upset about their order at a smoothie shop, that is just not human,” says Jachles.
The shooter took off running. Police set up a perimeter, a K-9 assisted with the search, but the suspect was not found.
“That is kind of scary that someone would go to that extent, we are dealing with a big situation here and everybody needs to come together and be compassionate for each other not do something like this, that is ridiculous,” says Penn.
The victim was rushed to the hospital. He is listed in good condition and is expected to recover.
The suspect was last seen wearing a black hoodie, black shorts and a black mask. If you have any information about this case, call Fort Pierce Police or Treasure Coast Crime Stoppers.
If you have any information about this case, call Detective Joselito Simon at 772-577-0753 or Treasure Coast Crime Stoppers, anonymously, at 800-273-TIPS (8477).
READ THE FULL STORY:Police: Tropical Smoothie Cafe customer shot after complaining about slow service
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