Kourtland I. Dukes, 21, of Ocala, was arrested on charges of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and possession of a firearm by a felon.
Editor's Note: This developing story has changed significantly from versions posted earlier Wednesday. The differences are due to new information from police.
Police say a gunman wearing a clown mask who fired shots and injured a man at a car wash in northwest Ocala Wednesday was himself shot by another customer and then arrested.
Kourtland I. Dukes, 21, of Ocala, was charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and possession of a firearm by a felon. He is being held at the Marion County Jail.
The person who shot him is not being charged at this time.
None of the wounds were considered life-threatening, police said.
According to Ocala Police Department reports, here is what happened:
Authorities said they were called to Long's Grocery at 803 NW Fourth St. on Wednesday morning. Next door is a car wash and detail business. An employee at the car wash told Detective Mat Steckman that he saw a man dressed in a black Adidas sweatsuit and wearing a clown mask. He said the man stood in front of the car wash and fired in the direction of customers. The man said one of the customers fired some shots back at the gunman while another man began to chase after the masked man.
A woman told Steckman her vehicle was parked in front of the store. She said a man wearing a black sweatsuit, with a clown mask covering his face, walked behind her vehicle and went to the west side of the business and opened fire. She said the gunman then ran north, followed by two men from the car wash who were shooting at him.
Detectives said they found a trail of blood on Northwest Seventh Avenue that led to a vacant residence in the 600 block of Northwest Fifth Street. The bloody trail then went southeast toward Northwest Sixth Terrace.
Dukes, wearing a black Adidas sweatsuit, was found limping in the nearby Parkside Gardens Apartment complex by Detective Robert Brown. Dukes was transported to a hospital for treatment and, once he was medically cleared, was arrested by detectives.
Dukes, who was shot in his left and right legs, as well as the left heel, told Steckman he was walking north on Northwest Seventh Avenue when he heard gunshots. He said he ran and then realized he had been shot several times. He told the detective he hid behind a home and then was given a ride by someone on a bicycle, who dropped him off near Parkside.
Police said the clothing collected from Dukes matched that worn by the man they saw on surveillance video walking in front of the store prior to the shooting and also on the person seen running from the scene.
The man injured as he was sitting at the car wash said he saw someone wearing all black and a mask, and waving around a firearm. He said he heard shots and was hit by gunfire. He was treated at a local hospital for a graze wound and a gunshot wound on his right leg. He said he does not know why anyone would want to shoot him.
A group of local pastors and the president of the local branch of the NAACP met last week with Ocala's police chief and deputy police chief to discuss several shootings in the community. The said they want to end the cycle of gun violence within the city limits of Ocala and in the county, and plan to have a series of meetings to find solutions.
Contact Austin L. Miller at 867-4118, austin.miller@starbanner.com or @almillerosb.