Lakeland police to discuss suspect info in deadly Monday shooting

LAKELAND, Fla. — Lakeland police will provide an update Thursday afternoon on the search for a driver involved in an apartment shooting Monday that left two dead, including a 3-year-old.

Police have been searching for the driver of a white 2014 Dodge Challenger, who was believed to be involved in the shooting at an apartment complex.

According to Lakeland police, the shooting happened just after 6:30 p.m. at the Cambridge Cove Apartment Homes just off Kathleen Road in Lakeland.

Lakeland Police Chief Sam Taylor said that four people were found on the scene in a 2023 Toyota RAV4, which included the 3-year-old, along with the child’s mother, 21-year-old Yeimarie Baez, her 3-month-old Jaquez Norton, and 23-year-old Robert Einzig.

Einzig suffered from a gunshot wound that was not life-threatening, and the mother and her 3-month-old were not injured, police said.

Taylor said that Einzig, the mother and her children were at Cambridge Cove to visit a friend. While attempting to drive out of the complex, the white Dodge Challenger approached head on and blocked them from leaving, police said. Twenty-two-year-old Kemarius Wilson got out of the passenger side of the Dodge Challenger with a handgun and approached the driver’s side of the RAV4 where the mother was sitting behind the driver’s wheel, according to authorities.

Police said an unidentified male got out of the driver’s side of the Dodge Challenger with a rifle and approached Einzig, who was also armed with a rifle and a handgun, on the passenger’s side of the RAV4.

Police said that at some point, words were exchanged and gunshots followed, and Einzig returned gunfire with his handgun while the mother fled the vehicle after grabbing the 3-month-old from the backseat.

This is a developing story. Stay with Spectrum News on-air, online and the Spectrum News app for updates.