Ocala Police Department officers were investigating two separate shootings that occurred less than 15 minutes of each other on Friday evening.

In the incident, a man — whose name was not released — was critically injured. Police aid he was shot be his female roommate, who feared an intruder.

They were the fifth and sixth shootings since Wednesday afternoon — in which a total of five people have been injured.

At 7:17 p.m. Friday, officers were called to the 600 block of Northeast 26th Avenue because of shots fired in the area. A man told them he went outside and saw several people. They exchanged words, he said, and a shot was fired in his direction, missing him. Officers searched the area but did not find anyone.

The group who had gathered outside ran away, leaving behind a car, according to OPD. Police had just released the gold Hyundai Sonata after processing it for evidence. Late Monday night to early Tuesday morning, it had been found inside Berkeley Pointe Apartments — which used to be Spring Manor Apartments — at 2833 NE Seventh Ave. Two firearms, including a stolen gun, and a small amount of marijuana were found, and officers arrested three of four teenage boys — two 17-year-olds and a 14-year-old — who were in the vehicle.

Another vehicle that was found at the shooting scene, a 2008 Suzuki, had been reported stolen between 1 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. Friday from the 1600 block of Northeast 17th Terrace.

At 7:28 p.m., while officers were investigating the first shooting, they received a call about the second one, across town at Steeples Apartments at 2901 SW 41st St.

A man who had been shot in the torso was taken to a nearby hospital, where he remain in critical condition. The man was able to speak with police.

Detectives — who did not release the name of the injured man, his apartment number or what he told them — said he lives with a woman at the complex. The two are roommates.

The woman told authorities she was inside the apartment in her room and thought an intruder was trying to enter. She grabbed a handgun and fired at least one shot, hitting the person who she thought was coming into her room. Officials said that, when she realized it was her roommate, she called 911 and treated him for his injury.

Detectives said the woman, whose name was not released, does not have a criminal record and she doesn’t have to have a license to have a firearm inside the home.

The firearm was recovered; however, detectives declined to disclose the type of weapon.

— Contact Austin L. Miller at 867-4118, austin.miller@starbanner.com or @almillerosb.