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18-year-old killed in Orange Park basketball court shooting, deputies still looking for suspect

ORANGE PARK, Fla. — An 18-year-old is dead after being shot in Orange Park Wednesday afternoon.

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The Orange Park Police Department is searching for the person who pulled the trigger and took the life of the victim, Drew Allan Wright III.

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According to authorities, the shooting happened after a fight broke out on the basketball court at the Orange Park Athletic Association on Fromhart Street.

Just down the road, Ralph Hernandez was catching up on some rest.

He didn’t hear about the shooting until the next morning when he saw it on the news.

Read: Man, 18, shot at Orange Park Athletic Association after basketball game fight has died, police say

We asked him if he’d ever seen anything like this happen in the area before.

“No. Not that I know of,” said Hernandez.

We also ran into a young man who claimed to be one of Drew’s childhood friends at the basketball courts Thursday afternoon.

He said he’d come to the courts to pay his respects to Drew.

He declined to appear on camera or share his name out of fear for his own safety, but he told us Drew was a senior at Orange Park High School.

He described Drew as funny, trustworthy, and a strong personality.

He said he doesn’t think the fight on the courts had anything to do with basketball, but declined to elaborate further.

Read: 18-year-old shot at Orange Park Athletic Association after fight during basketball game, police say

He did state that he believed law enforcement would be able to track down the shooter quickly.

CCSO hasn’t released any information about the suspect, but said in a statement detectives are making good progress following up on strong leads.

For neighbors like Hernandez, the shooting has injected a spark of fear into the community they once believed to be safe.

“I see kids walk to school and the crossing guard every morning, cause my stepdaughter she walks her dog every day right around there,” said Hernandez.

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Although the friend of Drew’s said he wasn’t at the courts when the shooting happened, he plans to go to the sheriff’s office at some point today to make a statement and share what information he can.