COOPER CITY, Fla. – A Margate Fire Rescue lieutenant was arrested Thursday in connection with a shooting that occurred Sunday during a Super Bowl block party in Cooper City, authorities confirmed.
A spokesperson from his department confirmed Lorne Brown, 39, has been suspended with pay.
The victim, Simeon Brown, 22, said he was driving to his girlfriend’s house Sunday when the incident occurred.
According to Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue spokesman Robyn Hankerson, the victim was driving through a neighborhood near Southwest 91st Terrace and Southwest 52nd Court when he and a friend who was following his car drove around some traffic cones that were blocking the roadway for the party.
Hankerson said a verbal dispute broke out between some of the neighbors and the people in both vehicles.
A neighbor kicked one of the cars as they were both leaving the area, Hankerson said.
According to Hankerson, Lorne Brown and another neighbor approached the victim’s vehicle with their guns drawn when he returned to the area.
She said the victim and the people in his car were told to get out of the vehicle. Shortly after, Lorne Brown fired into the car, striking Simeon Brown in the arm, Hankerson said.
“A fragment went up to my neck,” Simeon Brown said.
Hankerson said the victim’s car continued driving through the block party and hit several cars before stopping in a resident’s yard.
Simeon Brown’s brother called 911 and he was taken by Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue personnel to a hospital. He is expected to be OK.
Margate Fire Rescue officials said Lorne Brown has been with the department since Aug. 16, 2004.
He faces charges of attempted first-degree murder, shooting or throwing a missile into a vehicle and aggravated assault with a firearm.