WILTON MANORS, Fla. – Broward County deputies are investigating a deadly shooting that occurred late Sunday night in Wilton Manors.
The homicide was reported just after 10:45 p.m. at a home in the area of Northwest Sixth Avenue and 28th Court.
According to the Broward Sheriff’s Office, which is investigating the case on behalf of Wilton Manors police, the victim, a man, sustained multiple gunshot wounds.
Family and friends identified the victim as Arland Cata, who had been renting the home and living with his children, aged 11 and 16, for about a year.
Authorities have not publicly identified any suspect or suspects in the shooting, but family tell Local 10 News that Cata, 44, was shot and killed by his own best friend.
Those close to him said that the two had been in business together, but that business relationship went south about a month ago.
Family says the best friend had been terrorizing Cata and his family ever since the two parted ways.
Neighbors in the area told Local 10 News reporter Alex Finnie that they heard more than a dozen gunshots.
“When I came out, it was like police cars all over and the ambulance. It was a big commotion,” one man said. “The neighbor across the street from the house, she said there were like 14 shots.”
While neighbors initially described the rental property as an Airbnb, a spokesperson for the company said it had no record of the property in its reservation system.
Anyone with information is asked to call BSO Detective Steven Novak at 954-321-4325 or Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477.
Editor’s note: The original article originally characterized the property as an Airbnb, but a company representative later said Airbnb had no records of the property in its reservation system. The article has been updated to reflect that.