FL Shooting Suspect Arrested At GA Amtrak Train Station: Sheriff

SAVANNAH, GA — A Manatee County man wanted for shooting and injuring multiple people outside a Bradenton bar the day after Thanksgiving was arrested in Georgia, authorities said.

Ronnie D. Morton III, 23, was taken into custody by the Savannah Police Department, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

He was charged with five counts of aggravated battery with a firearm, felony possession of a firearm and armed robbery from a previous outstanding warrant out of Manatee County.

Morton remains in the Chatham County Jail and will be extradited to Manatee County.

He pulled out a handgun in the parking lot of Absolute Sports Lounge, 5012 15th Street E., and fired multiple rounds in the direction of a 25-year-old man he was arguing with, the sheriff’s office said.

The intended victim was shot several times and four bystanders were also hit by bullets. Each victim had non-life-threatening injuries and was treated and later released from local hospitals.

More than a week after the shooting, an MCSO detective learned that Morton was traveling from Florida to North Carolina on an Amtrak train, the sheriff’s office said.

His cell phone pinged on railroad tracks just north of Jacksonville Saturday evening as the train headed into Georgia.

Detectives coordinated a multi-jurisdictional operation with Amtrak and Savannah police, leading to his arrest at a train station in Savannah early Sunday morning.

Investigators are still working to identify another man who was in a car with Morton when he left the bar on Nov. 29. He is described as a Black man wearing a black and silver shirt with the number 77 on it.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office at 941-747-3011 or to remain anonymous and be eligible for a cash reward, contact Manatee County Crime Stoppers at 866-634-TIPS or ManateeCrimeStoppers.com.