OCALA, FL (352today.com) – Two arrests have been made in connection with the Sept. 14 shooting that injured a mother and her 5-year-old child.
The shooter, Kentrai Patterson, 28, was a passenger in the suspect vehicle and is charged with attempted murder and shooting into an occupied vehicle. The driver, Kedonte Davis, 26, is facing accessory charges for the same crimes. Detectives are still investigating a third, unnamed passenger.
Around 10 p.m. on Monday, September 14, 2026, gunfire struck a family of three while they were driving near SE 11th Avenue and SE 12th Street. The mother was shot in the hand, and the child sustained serious injuries to the torso. Both were treated at the hospital and are expected to survive. The father was not injured.
Detectives discovered that the family had been followed after leaving Hickory Knoll Apartments. Surveillance footage showed a silver Chevrolet Impala following the victims’ vehicle before the shooting. At the scene, officers recovered multiple shell casings.
The suspect vehicle, a 2014 Chevrolet Impala registered to Kedonte Davis, was located on Sept. 16. Davis was detained at a business on SW 10th Street. During questioning, he admitted to being present during the shooting.
One passenger, Kentrai Patterson, was arrested in Citra after surveillance video confirmed his presence in the suspect vehicle. Audio evidence from neighborhood cameras revealed more than 30 gunshots were fired that night.
License Plate Reader (LPR) technology assisted in providing critical information to link the suspect vehicle to the crime.
Patterson and Davis were taken to the Marion County Jail.
The investigation remains active, and detectives are pursuing additional leads. If you have information, please contact the Ocala Police Department or submit tips anonymously through Crime Stoppers of Marion County.