Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Dante Kevin McKeever-Coleman, 17, has been charged as an adult with shooting from a vehicle in Midtown in December 2024.

At approximately 4:59 p.m. on December 2, 2024, officers from the Gainesville Police Department arrived at the 100 block of NW 10th Street in response to several calls about gunfire in the vicinity. Law enforcement discovered 27 shell casings scattered between 100 and 200 NW 10th Street. According to witnesses, there was an exchange of gunfire between two groups on the street, with bullets striking several vehicles—both occupied and empty—as well as an occupied house.

Eyewitnesses also reported seeing multiple people running near the Chevron located at 1024 W. University Avenue, while others were observed fleeing north along NW 10th Street in a car.

Surveillance footage captured in the area showed a vehicle arriving at the Chevron at 4:53 p.m. The driver and a passenger exited the car to enter the store, after which the driver began refueling the vehicle while the passenger returned to his seat. At 4:56 p.m., three Black males approached, initiating a conversation with the driver and passenger. Two males then moved behind the store, where the first individual, later identified as the initial victim, produced a firearm and handed it to the second individual, who became the second victim and secured the weapon in his waistband.

At 4:57 p.m., the vehicle drove out of the parking lot and went north on NW 11th Street, with the two victims following on foot; the third male stayed at the store.

About 33 seconds later, gunshots could be heard on the Chevron’s cameras, and 25 seconds after the shots were fired, the second victim was seen running back toward the Chevron while the first victim jumped a fence at the business east of the Chevron and ran across W. University Avenue.

The passenger in the vehicle was identified by a school official as McKeever-Coleman.

In an interview a few days after the shooting, a witness said the vehicle’s passenger said he was “Lil Crack” and appeared to reach for something, making the victims fearful, so they ran behind the store. As the victims followed the vehicle on foot, “Lil Crack” started shooting from the vehicle. One of the victims returned fire, but the witness was adamant that McKeever-Coleman shot first.

Another witness said he saw the vehicle stop in the 200 block of NW 10th Street and saw someone shoot from the vehicle until he was out of bullets; he said the victim shot back, but the shooter in the vehicle shot first. Fifteen shell casings were reportedly found in that area.

About four days after the shooting, the vehicle was located with two bullet impacts on the passenger side; the owner reportedly said he let a friend use it while he was working and was told there was a shooting.

Another witness identified McKeever-Coleman as the person who shot from the vehicle.

McKeever-Coleman was originally charged with two counts of attempted murder, but formal charges of shooting from a vehicle and possession of a firearm by an adjudicated delinquent were later filed. McKeever-Coleman has a juvenile conviction from 2023 and is prohibited from possessing a gun until he is 24. Judge Susan Miller-Jones set bail at $100,000.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.