South Florida police said they will not charge a neighbor with shooting at a car used by a grocery delivery driver who ended up heading the wrong way.
Officials in Davie, a city about 26 miles north of Miami, announced Friday that no charges would be recommended against the gunman, Antonio Caccavale, 43, because his actions were justified by his fear.
Also, police said, the Instacart driver will not be charged because he acted based on his own assessment of the danger when the erratically moving vehicle struck a rock and the shooter’s foot.
Investigators said they did not have video of the incident and therefore had to rely on the narratives of each side, each with their own timeline and facts.
“Each party appears justified in their actions based on their perceived circumstances,” Detective Patrick Di Cintio said in a supplement to the police report on the matter.
It wasn’t clear whether the detective concluded the shooting was justified based on Florida’s controversial «stand your ground» law, a first in the country, which says residents have no duty to retreat before using potentially deadly force. to defend life, family, and property
The police report stated that driver Waldes Thomas Jr. and his passenger Diamond Harley D’arville were attempting a grocery delivery on the evening of April 15 and were speaking to the customer’s wife on a cell phone for navigational assistance when the incident occurred. incident.
After the Honda Civic pulled up on Caccavale’s property, next to the delivery destination, the home of Instacart customer Daniel Orta, Caccavale’s son got out at his father’s urging to tell the couple in the car that was kept off the property, according to the report.
It’s not entirely clear what happened next and in what order, but the driver and his passenger said Caccavale aggressively approached them, prompting their hasty exit, according to the document. The duo said Caccavale had grabbed or latched onto the vehicle as it was moving, according to the report.
Caccavale’s foot was struck by the Civic, according to the police report, and Caccavale said he opened fire after that to prevent further injury and protect his family from the vehicle.
The resident said he had pointed his Smith & Wesson semi-automatic pistol at the vehicle’s tires in an attempt to disable it as a threat, according to the report.
“He said he fired three rounds into the vehicle after the vehicle struck him,” the police report stated. «He said that he fired his weapon at the vehicle because he feared for his safety and that of his children.»
The Civic left the property and officers found it a few blocks away stopped on the railroad tracks, according to the report. There were signs of round impacts on the car and a flat tire, he said.
Thomas and D’arville were clearly shaken up, police said, but were otherwise uninjured. Police did not specify the extent of injuries to Caccavale’s feet.
The duo said they heard gunshots only after they tried to leave as a result of what they called aggressive behavior from neighbor Caccavale.
“I had seen him pull out a gun and that’s when I said, ‘We have to go, we have to go,’” D’arville said. «I was scared, I’m not going to lie.»
Someone at Caccavale’s phone number hung up when contacted by NBC South Florida.
Instacart said in a statement that it had contacted Thomas and would cooperate with investigators if asked.
«The safety of the entire Instacart community is incredibly important to us, and we take immediate action when we receive reports of violence or threats of violence against any member of the Instacart community,» he said.
The San Francisco-based company, founded in 2012 and fueled by a venture capital investment, helped establish contemporary grocery delivery that connects drivers of the gig economy with online customers, similar to the platform of Uber connecting drivers with ride seekers.
Broward County State’s Attorney Harold Pryor told NBC South Florida that he requested a review of the case and the Davie Police Department’s conclusion that the charges were not substantiated.
On April 13, a teenager mistook a very similar address in Kansas City, Missouri, for the one where he was expected to retrieve his siblings, police said. An elderly white resident, since charged with first degree assault and armed criminal action, opened fire, wounding the black teenager.
More cases of shooting at wrong locations, roads and vehicles have emerged in the wake of the Missouri shooting of teenager Ralph Yarl, helping to renew the national conversation about guns and equal justice.
Courtney Brogle and juliet arcodia contributed.