1 killed, 1 injured in Lehigh Acres shooting; suspects on the loose

The Lee County Sheriff’s Office is searching for two suspects in connection with a shooting in Lehigh Acres Monday night that left one man dead and sent another to the hospital.

Lee County Sheriff’s deputies responded to reports of gunfire on Sunrise Boulevard and Genoa Avenue South around 6 p.m. on Monday and found two male victims, one of whom was dead, the other with non-life-threatening injuries from his gunshot wounds. The injured victim was later transported to Lee Memorial Hospital.

The scene wasn’t cleared until over 12 hours later, after 8 a.m. on Tuesday.

According to LCSO detectives, this began as road rage before turning into a homicide. They say this was an isolated incident that poses no threat to the public.

Deputies also brought in K-9s to help work the scene.

Alberto Oropeza says his son, Yairo, is the man that was killed last night. His boy was just 23 years old and now he’s gone. His friend ended up in the hospital.

“I can’t even explain it. I don’t understand,” Alberto said. “He was always happy. He never got in trouble he never got in a fight with anyone.”

Deputies believe Yairo and his friend were riding ATVs just two blocks from his family’s home.

Jose Garcia lives nearby and drove past the scene just after the shooting. “I was coming home from work and I saw the two gentlemen on the side of the road the other one was asking for help,” Garcia said. “I turned around and tried to help him but when I got to him to check his pulse he was already dead.”

He shut Yairo’s eyes for the last time and said a prayer for him.

“For road rage to come to this you don’t kill nobody it’s hard, you know, the family needs closure to find out who did this and why they did this,” Garcia said, with a sigh.

The family wants answers and they want justice. To achieve that, they need help finding the person who pulled the trigger.

Detectives are currently searching for two suspects they say may have been involved in the homicide, as well as their vehicle. The vehicle is a 2010-2015 four-door black Hyundai, possibly with front-end and gunfire damage. LCSO says the vehicle frequents the area. Its driver is described as a heavyset woman with freckles and blonde hair, around 5’4 and believed to be in her 30s. The passenger is described as a thin man around 6’0 with dreadlocks and a patchy beard, believed to be between 25 and 30 years old.

Anyone with information on the identities or whereabouts of the suspects or the vehicle are encouraged to call LCSO at (239) 477-1000. You can also anonymously contact Crime Stoppers online or at 1-800-780-8477 to possibly be eligible for a reward.