FORT PIERCE, Fla. — City commissioners spent the first part of their meeting Tuesday discussing the tragic event one day earlier during a Martin Luther King Jr. Day event at Ilous Ellis Park in which one woman died and eight others were shot.
They took time to condemn the violence as the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office is urging the community to speak up as they search for those responsible for the shooting.
"We intend to keep it a safe city and we're not going to tolerate this," Mayor Lisa Hudson said during the meeting.
"Stop all the negativity, people on social media and everywhere else about our beautiful city of Fort Pierce," Commissioner Arnold S. Gaines said. "It was one incident and we're on top of it."
The sheriff's office said the shooting stemmed from a dispute between two rival gang members.
"Tips don't give us arrest warrants, and tips don't give us prosecutable cases," Gaines said. "Witnesses do, and we need witnesses."
The Florida Sheriff's Office has sponsored a $5,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest.
Tipsters can remain anonymous by using going to Treasure Coast Crime Stoppers.