Drive-by shooting at soul food restaurant in Fort Pierce
FORT PIERCE, Fla. —
Fort Pierce Police are investigating after gunshots were fired into a restaurant on Monday night.
The incident occurred at Sugar & Spice Soul Food on Okeechobee Road, where multiple bullet holes were found. Five employees were inside the restaurant at the time, but no one was hurt.
Sheila Hampton, the assistant manager of Sugar & Spice, described the terrifying moment.
“It was something scary. It sounded like it was a .45, wasn’t a .38 because it was real loud,” Hampton said.
Hampton was in the kitchen with four other employees when the shots rang out, shattering glass.
“When the window shattered, I look out there and we saw a car slowing down doing shots at the window,” she said.
Hampton said she got a good look at the vehicle, describing it as a red car, possibly a Nissan Murano.
“They slowed down. No bullets can come through this, but they shoot,” she said.
The restaurant’s owner said he received threatening text messages from a former customer just moments before the shooting. He said the texts were related to a financial dispute. Investigators believe the messages and the shooting may be connected, but no arrests have been made.
Hampton expressed her hopes for a safer community.
“It’s safe here, that’s what we’re going. We’re trying to bring something to the neighborhood that you can be comfortable and sit down. It’s just the area and the people, they need to stop,” she said.
Despite the incident, Sugar & Spice reopened Tuesday evening and is working on installing a new security system.
“Put down the guns so we can have a nice soul food restaurant that you can come and relax in,” Hampton said.
Fort Pierce police is asking anyone with information about the shooting to contact them.
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