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2 men found fatally shot in Greenacres park

Posted at 2:18 PM, Apr 27, 2017
and last updated 2017-04-28 16:48:31-04

Two men were found shot and killed in a Greenacres park Thursday afternoon. 

The shooting happened around 2 p.m. in Bowman Park located east of Haverhill Road and just north of Lake Worth Road.

Both men were pronounced dead at the scene by Greenacres Fire Rescue, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office said.

The sheriff's office said the men were targeted and the shootings were not a random act.

Late Thursday afternoon the sheriff's office identified them as Matthew Makarits, 22, of Lake Worth and 21-year-old Marcus Stukes.

A woman who lives nearby said she heard four or five distinct gunshots. She said they were loud and it sounded like someone was banging on her fence outside of her home. She also said she saw one of the victims lying next to a car.

John I. Leonard High School, LC Swain Middle School, and Greenacres Elementary School were on lockdown as a precaution. Those lockdowns have since been lifted.

The sheriff's office sent detectives from the Violent Crimes Division and Crime Scene investigators to the scene.

"It's sad. It's touching. You know, it's really close to home. I feel for their family. I can only imagine what they're going through,” said Elora Ringer who heard the gunshots.

William Castillo lived next door to Makarits, who knew him as a teenager. 

"I'm here talking to you about him and I know I just saw him this morning and it's like....really?" Castillo says. "For (someone) to go and know that you're going to take someone's life, this is not a video game where you shoot someone and you keep going. You're taking someone's life."

Castillo says he was able to see the scene before investigators pushed everyone back.

He says saw Stukes in the passenger side of a blue sedan, and  Makarits on the ground outside the car, like he was trying to escape. 

There are no suspects at this time, the sheriff's office said. It urges anyone with information to call Palm Beach County Crime Stoppers at 800.458.TIPS.