Dave Berman

FLORIDA TODAY

Melbourne police say they are frustrated by the lack of witness cooperation following a Sunday night shooting at Lipscomb Street Park that left three people injured.

Melbourne Police Cmdr. Sean Riordan said about 1,000 people were in the park at the time of the shooting, at about 7:40 p.m. Sunday, for a gathering that police described as "an Easter celebration."

Riordan said, based on an initial investigation at the scene, as many as 80 shots were fired.

"It's absolutely amazing that nobody was killed," considering how many people were in the park and how many shots were fired, Riordan said. "It is really a good thing that not more people were struck. It could have been much worse than what it was."

But Riordan said relatively few witnesses have come forward with usable leads, in comparison with the number of potential witnesses. He said much of the information received so far has been "very non-specific."

"We're disappointed in the number of people who have come forward," Riordan said. "It does make the investigation really difficult."

Riordan said, because of conflicting witness statements, police do not know how many people were doing the shooting or what the motive might have been. He said various witnesses said anywhere from one to five people carried out the shooting.

The three shooting victims and the injuries are as follows:

Tyesha Robinson, 27, of Palm Bay, with an injury to her left arm.

Ladrevious Pollard-Robertson, 24, of Melbourne, with an injury to his right leg.

Clinton Bryant, 17, of Melbourne, with an injury to his right arm.

The injuries to the three were described as "non-life-threatening." They were treated at Holmes Regional Medical Center in Melbourne.

Organizers to hold prayer rally for Titusville in wake of shooting

Riordan said that while there's no indication of a motive, he does not believe this was a random shooting. He said he believes a person or people doing the shooting were targeting one or more people at the event for some reason.

Riordan said the lack of cooperation, despite there being so many potential witnesses at the event, may be an indication of people having a mistrust for police or just not wanting to get involved in a police investigation.

He said this is particularly disappointing, considering the Melbourne Police Department's efforts in neighborhood watch and other community outreach initiatives.

"This is a nationwide problem," Riordan said. "It's a moral issue."

"Police are still working diligently to resolve some outstanding elements of the investigation," the Melbourne Police Department said in a statement, while noting there has been a "lack of witnesses coming forward or providing information."

Riordan is encouraging witnesses to step forward, and noted that people can call in information anonymously.

"A lot of lives were jeopardized" Sunday during the shooting, including the lives of young children, Riordan said.

"We're looking for some serious suspect information," Riordan said. "We're not getting the cooperation that we would expect to get out of an incident like that. When you have a large group, a family group, good people, kids trying to have fun, and this type of thing happens, you would expect more witnesses to come forward. We know they saw the event because there were so many people out there that there has to be somebody that knows everything that occurred. They're just failing to give us the information."

A series of 911 calls released Monday by Melbourne police indicated that it was a chaotic scene as the shooting was taking place. One caller described "people running everywhere."

Riordan said 33 law enforcement officers responded to the scene, including some from the Palm Bay and West Melbourne police departments and the Brevard County Sheriff's Office.

The Rev. Tanya Greene, senior pastor of the Destiny Life Church, about a block away from the community center on Pelham Street, said the park is for the most part a peaceful gathering place for the community.

Greene said she hopes Sunday's shooting doesn’t deter people from going to the park and holding events there.

“We can’t allow the blindness of the world, the darkness of the world, to stop the positive events we have there,” Greene said. “I think it’s important we spring forth.”

The park, located off Monroe Street, is a popular gathering spot for the community, Riordan said, with its recreation center, swimming pool, basketball courts and other facilities.

The Melbourne Parks and Recreation Department issued a permit to a Melbourne resident for a private reception and birthday party at the park from 2 to 8 p.m. Sunday. The permit indicated there would be a disc jockey, a bounce house and alcoholic beverages at the event, which the permit said would have an anticipated attendance of 100. The park's pavilion and football field were reserved for the event.

Wayne T. Price and Tim Shortt contributed to this report.

Contact Berman at 321-242-3649 or dberman@floridatoday.com, on Twitter at @bydaveberman and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/dave.berman.54.

Call with tips

Anyone with information is being encouraged to call police. Police can be called via Melbourne Police Department crime hotline at 321-608-TIPS (8477) or Crimeline at 1-800-423-TIPS (8477). Callers can remain anonymous.

