BRADENTON, Fla. (WFLA) — A shooting suspect who fired shots in a Bradenton bar on Black Friday, injuring four people, has been arrested in Georgia, according to the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.
Ronnie D. Morton III, 23, had pulled a handgun in the parking lot of Absolute Sports Lounge, located at 5012 15th Street East in Bradenton, just before 1 a.m. on Nov. 29 after getting into an argument with a 25-year-old man.
The sheriff’s office said Morton fired several rounds toward the man, who was hit several times. The other bullets struck four nearby bystanders, sending them to a nearby hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Detectives discovered that Morton had fled Manatee County and was likely traveling out of state.
Morton hopped on an Amtrak train bound for North Carolina. Detectives were able to ping his cell phone on railroad tracks, just north of Jacksonville, on Saturday evening.
MCSO alerted Amtrak police and the Savannah Police Department of Morton on the train, which was heading into Georgia the following morning.
At a train station in Savannah, Morton was arrested and was charged with five counts of aggravated battery with a firearm, felony possession of a firearm, and armed robbery for a previous outstanding warrant. He is being held in the Chatham County Jail and will later be extradited back to Manatee County.
Detectives are still searching for the man who was in the car Morton was in when they fled the bar. He is described as a black male who was wearing a black and silver shirt with the number 77 on it. Anyone with information is asked to call MCSO at 941-747-3011. Anonymous tips can be made to Crime Stoppers at 866-634-8477 or at ManateeCrimeStoppers.com.