LEE COUNTY, Fla. -- People in Lehigh Acres are living in fear and desperate for a cure to the crime that's been plaguing their community for years. The latest incident involved a shooting that sent one man to the hospital Wednesday night.
It happened in the 5000 block of Beck Court, near Centennial Boulevard, where the Lee County Sheriff's Office is investigating the shooting.
Bobby Johnson tells Fox 4 he was in that home when shots rang out and he was hit in the head.
"I was scared...scared to death. Oh my god," said neighbor Logan Ruddock.
Friends say someone broke into the home's lanai, then fired at least three shots after trying to break in. One of those shots hit 29-year-old Bobby Johnson. "I was on the phone with him. I was supposed to come and hang out with everybody in the house," said friend Steven de los Santos.
But before he could get there, Lee County Sheriff's Officer had already arrived. "Once I came over to that stop sign and saw what was happening, I can't even say what came over me. It was like an avalanche of hate."
Police tell Fox 4 that Johnson didn't cooperate in the investigation. But he responded to Fox 4's messages, saying, "I got a bullet in my head and I'm walking, talking and laughing. At the end of the day, I'm winning."
But neighbors who are tired of hearing about violence in their community tell me they're not exactly winning. "I don't feel safe, to be honest. Things I've experienced from living in New York for over 30 years, and I've experienced nothing close to this," says Ruddock.
It's a problem Carmen Rodney thinks needs more police attention. "The police need to patrol the areas more. They need to take this seriously because it's happening too often."
Johnson tells Fox 4 he expects to be released from the hospital Friday and he's optimistic that this act of violence won't leave a hole in his life.
If you have any information, you are urged to call Lee County Sheriff's Office.
