April 1, 2010
Brandon Haught
Public Information Office

TWO TRANSPORTED TO HOSPITAL AFTER SHOOTING NEAR DELAND 

The Volusia County Sheriff's Office is investigating a shooting near DeLand that sent two people to the hospital with gunshot wounds Wednesday night. Neither victim's injury is life threatening.

 

Michael Weisner, 22, was driving a car to a friend's house near DeLand with Tiffany Walker, 25, in the passenger seat. They pulled in front of Tyler Bonanza's house in a cul-de-sac of South Montgomery Street, and Bonanza, 18, got into the back seat. Two people suddenly came out of the nearby woods, and one of them brandished a gun. The pair screamed at the three victims to get out of the car at gunpoint, but instead, Weisner put the car in reverse and started driving away. The person with the gun fired at least two shots as the car crashed through a neighbor's fence. When the car came to a stop in the neighbor's back yard, the two suspects fled on foot back through the woods. The Sheriff's Office's communications center received multiple 911 calls about the incident starting at 9:52 p.m.

 

When deputies and paramedics arrived on scene it was discovered that Weisner had suffered a gunshot wound to his head and Bonanza had one in his hip. Weisner was airlifted by Sheriff's Office helicopter and Bonanza was transported by EVAC ambulance; both went to Halifax Health Medical Center in Daytona Beach. Meanwhile, Sheriff's deputies and DeLand Police Department officers set up a perimeter and K9 teams swept the area, but the suspects were not found. Seminole County Sheriff's Office's helicopter assisted in the search.

 

None of the victims could give much of a description of the suspects, other than their being dressed all in black and wearing masks. Anyone with information about this attack is asked to call the Sheriff's Office at (386) 736-5999 or Crime Stoppers of Northeast Florida, toll-free, at (888) 277-TIPS. Residents can also text a tip by texting “TIP231 plus the message” to CRIMES. Tipsters who provide information to Crime Stoppers will remain anonymous and can qualify for a reward of up to $1,000.