NewsTreasure CoastRegion St Lucie CountyPort St Lucie

Actions

Repo driver called 911 himself after getting shot 6 times

Triston Hastings, 28, survived after being shot at point-blank range 6 times, according to Port St. Lucie police
Repo man attacked in Port St. Lucie. Jan. 25, 2024
Posted at
and last updated

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — The repossession agent, who Port St. Lucie police said was shot six times on Thursday, called 911 himself, according to records released by police on Tuesday.

Police said Triston Hastings, 28, was shot six times after he tried to repossess Omar Sueque's car. Hastings was released from the hospital and Sueque is currently facing multiple felonies, including attempted murder.

According to the recordings, which WPTV received from a public records request, Hastings believed he was only shot two times in his back and shoulder. He also screamed for help multiple times to the 911 operator.

"I got shot. I got shot. I got shot. I got shot," Hastings said. "...Help. Help. Help. I got shot."

He told 911 operators the shooter ran into the house and stayed on the phone while neighbors came to his aid while waiting for officers to get on the scene on the 2000 block of Southwest Villanova Road.

"I'm starting to shake," Hasting said. "...This doesn't feel good at all."

Video neighbors shared with WPTV shows the events leading up to the shooting. Those events include a man standing in between the tow truck and the car, a man punching the tow truck driver and the tow truck driver getting out of the car to approach the man.

Seven other people called 911 about the shooting based on the records released by the Port St. Lucie Police Department. Multiple people said they saw the shooting, likely had it recorded on various devices and identified Sueque as the shooter.

Omar Sueque arrested after shooting involving repossession agent 01262024
Omar Sueque, 59, was arrested after a shooting involving a repossession agent.

According to court documents, Omar said he believed the repo truck hit his right leg near his ankle and then ran away because he thought he was going to get run over by the truck. Police said they didn't see any mark near his right ankle.

According to police, Omar said he grabbed his firearm because he was scared after the tow truck driver got out of his car. Police said he didn't mention punching the driver and said he had cameras on his house but was unable to pull up the videos for the initial responding officers.

Bill Kelly, who owns Repossessions Inc., said he's never seen a repossession agent confront an aggressor after being punched in the face.

In the video, it appears the driver of the tow truck got back out of his car after being punched in the face to confront his alleged aggressor.

In his experience, Kelly said that's never something he's done or seen another repossession agent do.

"What did he get out of the car for and chase the guy? He should have just continued with what he was doing and left," he said Friday. "I've had people, a pregnant woman, lay down between the car and the tow truck. Obviously, you get out of dodge, you don't want to be involved in a situation like that."

Port St. Lucie Police Chief Richard Del Toro said on Friday that his department reviewed those details with the State Attorney's Office and is considering all those components.