Man charged in connection to homicide
OPD received two 911 calls about incidents in southeast Ocala.
[Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette file photo]
A 29-year-old man stands accused of threatening one man with a firearm before shooting and killing a second man in southeast Ocala on Wednesday afternoon.
The “horrific event” caused streets to be temporarily blocked and Osceola Middle School to be locked down for a time before a suspect was quickly apprehended, according to the Ocala Police Department.
According to an OPD release, a 911 call was received around 3:34 p.m. with the caller stating a “suspicious person” dressed in black had approached his home as he pulled out of his driveway in the 900 block of Southeast 3rd Street. The suspect motioned for the caller to stop, but he drove away. The caller said he thought the suspect had “racked the slide” on a handgun, the press release stated.
Meanwhile, OPD received another 911 call about a shooting victim.
Responding officers found Harold Whitt Harper, 64, in his front yard about a block east of the original incident locations. Harper had been shot and died from his injuries, according to the press release.
A responding officer found Ezekiel Toye, 29, on foot two blocks south of the victim on Southeast 11th Avenue. Toye matched the description given in the initial 911 call and he possessed a pistol, the press release stated.
“Witness statements and evidence place the suspect at the scene of both incidents. Based on our investigation, we have developed probable cause to charge (Toye) with two counts of aggravated assault and one count of homicide,” the OPD press release stated.
OPD offered condolences to the Harper family and thanked the residents who came forward with information.
OPD called the tragedy a “random act of violence.”
“We are confident there is no further danger to the community” the press released stated.
Former Marion County commissioner Glen Fiorello lives about two blocks from the site of the fatal shooting and said he knew the victim.
“The community lost a good citizen,” Fiorello said.
He said Harper was retired, possibly from the insurance industry, and described Harper’s relatives as “the perfect family.”
“I think the whole neighborhood was shocked,” Fiorello said Thursday morning.
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