One man dead, teen injured after Fort Pierce shooting on North 31st Street

FORT PIERCE — A 21-year-old man died and a younger man was wounded after a Monday evening shooting incident on North 31st Street, according to Fort Pierce police Tuesday.

Police about 6:20 p.m. Monday went to a report of shooting activity in the 1000 block of North 31st Street.

Investigators found Mizee Hodge, 21, of Fort Pierce, in a red Chevrolet car near Avenue I and North 31st Street, according to Audria Moore-Wells, police spokeswoman.

More: Siblings charged with home invasion, homicide in shooting death of Fort Pierce man

An 18-year-old man, also of Fort Pierce, was a block away near Avenue K and North 31st Street.

“They were both shot,” Moore-Wells said.

They were taken to a local hospital, where Hodge died. The younger man was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

More: Drive-by shooting injures one in Fort Pierce

Moore-Wells said the 18-year-old man fled after the shooting incident.

Police said there is no known motive or description of a possible suspect or suspects.

It’s the second homicide of the year in Fort Pierce.

Investigators are working to determine the number of gunshot wounds the men sustained.

More: Man shot in buttocks in Port St. Lucie

'Too close for comfort'

Charles Culver, 81, said he lives next door to Hodge’s father. Culver said he knew Hodge and last spoke with him about six months ago.

“He’s a nice boy. He’d get in the wrong neighborhood, but he was a nice boy,” Culver said. “He used to go to work with me when I do the Pineapple Festival in Jensen Beach. I do the cleanups and stuff.”

Culver, speaking across a fence near a mango tree, said Hodge had plans for the future.

“But you know how kids is,” he said. “They get on the wrong track.”

Culver didn’t know what happened.

“They said somebody shot him. I don’t know what the deal was or what,” he said. “I don’t know who could have done it.”

More: Palm Beach woman accused of hitting stepmother with car door in Stuart

The shooting scene is near the Boys & Girls Club of St. Lucie County, a short drive from Culver’s home.

Sharae Brown said she lives in the area and saw the man who died. She said he had a gunshot wound to the head.

Brown said she heard 10 or 11 shots.

“You hear gunshots all the time, but being that close, to where you can taste the gunpowder, it was smoke from the guns, it was crazy,” Brown said. “It was too close for comfort.”

Still, she said violence happens everywhere.

“I’ve been here for a long time; I feel safe right here,” Brown said.

Diane Burke also lives near where the violence played out, moving to the area from Miami in December.

“I feel like Miami’s much better than this,” Burke said.

Burke said she heard gunshots and got down.

“I had to drop on the ground so hard I hurt my knee,” Burke said.

Burke said she had to crawl in the closet.

“It went on for about two or three minutes, back to back,” she said of the shooting. “Like a gun fight. It was like a shootout.”

Anyone with information is asked to call the Detective Ludmila Quintao at 772-467-6862 or Treasure Coast Crime Stoppers at 800-273-8477.