Crime & Public Safety
Shooting at Lake Wales 'Mud Hole' party injures four; two arrested in Polk County probe
A shooting at a large party at the Lake Wales “Mud Hole” west of US 27 injured four people, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office reported. Deputies responded around 12:18 a.m. Sunday to the property on Alturas Babson Park Cut-Off Road after multiple people were reported shot. The injured included an 18-year-old Lakeland woman shot in the abdomen and three others who were treated at hospitals for gunshot wounds to the thigh, arm and foot.
Deputies said between 150 and 300 people attended the event, which had been advertised on social media. According to investigators, friends drove three victims to hospitals before deputies arrived; the 18-year-old victim was transported by ambulance and remained stable. Detectives interviewed more than 100 witnesses at the scene and in days that followed as part of the identification effort.
On Thursday, deputies arrested and charged two men — a 20-year-old and a 19-year-old — with four counts of attempted second-degree murder and multiple counts of culpable negligence, the sheriff’s office said. Detectives have not released a motive or a detailed account of what led to the gunfire, and they said additional arrests are possible as the investigation continues.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office is the investigating agency; the facts above are based on the agency’s statements about the scene, victims, interviews conducted and the two arrests. No court outcomes or further charges have been reported.
All individuals accused of a crime are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
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All individuals mentioned in criminal allegations are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.