Drive-by shooting kills man in central Broward, sheriff's office says

A drive-by shooting on the 2700 block of Northwest 13th Court in unincorporated central Broward killed a man Saturday evening, leaving Broward Sheriff’s Office detectives with no victim identity and no suspect in custody. Deputies responded at about 7:46 p.m. and found the man shot dead at the scene, while homicide and crime scene units continued working the case.

The killing came as Broward communities were marking Independence Day with parades, family activities and fireworks in Plantation and Margate. South Florida was also in the middle of major July 4 celebrations tied to America’s 250th birthday, and the shooting in a residential stretch of central Broward stood apart from the holiday crowds filling parks, streets and waterfronts elsewhere in the county.

It was not the only gunfire investigators were dealing with. In Fort Lauderdale, police said an adult man was shot on a boat near the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina on SE 17th Street, and the suspect fled in a dark-colored vehicle. No one was in custody in that case, adding another holiday weekend shooting that stretched law enforcement across Broward.

The central Broward killing also fits a broader pattern that has kept public safety under a microscope in the county. Public crime statistics have long shown Broward with violent-crime and homicide rates above national averages, and a shooting in an unincorporated neighborhood carries the same countywide weight as one on a busier commercial corridor. With no motive, no suspect description and no explanation for why the man was targeted, the investigation remained open and the questions on Northwest 13th Court were still unanswered.