Tampa Bay's Top 5: Our Most Popular Facebook Stories This Week

From a self-inflicted gunshot wound at a local gun range to a Palm Harbor injured in a car crash, check out the stories Florida Patch readers were sharing, reading and commenting on for the week of May 15.

Man, 19, Dead After Shooting Himself At Gun Range: Cops

The Pinellas Park Police Department has announced the death of a 19-year-old man who suffered an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound at the Shoot Straight shooting range on Ulmerton Road. According to the agency, Luke Prendergast went to the 4594 Ulmerton Road shooting range around 8 p.m. on May 17 with another man. Police say Prendergast, who was homeless, met the man at the beach in Treasure Island and spent part of the day target shooting at a St. Petersburg gun range.

Woman Stabbed Boyfriend Above The Heart: Cops

An argument between a boyfriend and girlfriend took a violent turn when New Port Richey Police say the woman picked up a knife and stabbed the man above his heart. Police were called to the Royal Palm Inn, 6523 U.S. 19, around 11:52 p.m. on May 17 in reference to a stabbing. The first officers on the scene say they found the male victim on the ground near the hotel’s front office. The man had “a stab wound in his chest right above his heart,” an email from the police department said.

Florida Sets Tourism Record: Gov. Scott

Folks who thought they noticed more traffic on roads and bigger crowds at beaches, theme parks and other tourist destinations across the Sunshine State over the past few months weren’t wrong. According to Gov. Rick Scott’s office, the state played host to a record-setting 31.1 million visitors in the first quarter of 2017. The news comes as the Florida Legislature's proposed budget for the next fiscal year includes massive funding cuts for Visit Florida, the state’s tourism marketing agency.

Palm Harbor Girl, 15, Seriously Injured In Crash

A 15-year-old Palm Harbor girl was seriously injured in a crash on Delaware Avenue. According to the Florida Highway Patrol, Tristen Cecala, 17, was heading eastbound on Delaware Street, approaching Palm Harbor University High School, around 7:25 a.m. on May 16. As Cecala’s Ford F250 neared the school, troopers say Alexus Waytowich was walking south a the parking lot, approaching Delaware Avenue.

Disturbing Florida Hit-And-Run Caught On Video

The Florida Highway Patrol is asking for help identifying a motorist who took a turn too fast in the Holiday area, sending his SUV careening. After hitting several mailboxes, a parked vehicle, slamming into a boy on a bike and causing injuries to a second bicyclist, the man took off, troopers say. The incident, which was captured on a neighborhood surveillance camera, unfolded around 3:55 p.m. on May 15.

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