ST. PETERSBURG — A 26-year-old man accused of shooting two people as they fled a fight outside a St. Petersburg home was booked into the Pinellas County Jail on September 23, 2026, at 2:11 p.m.
Eldon Louis Fowler Jr. faces two counts of attempted second-degree murder in connection with the August 26 shooting, according to a St. Petersburg Police Department complaint affidavit. A judge issued an arrest warrant for him on September 18.
Officers responded to a report of gunfire near 18th Avenue South and 13th Street South at approximately 5:47 p.m. They identified the shooting scene as 1659 13th Street South after learning that two people with gunshot wounds had been dropped off at a hospital.
According to the affidavit, 14-year-old CM told detectives that he and others went to the home to fight a person he knew as “Q.” CM said an adult man produced a gun as people gathered outside. He and 19-year-old Ja’Nard McKinney were getting into a Toyota RAV4 when the man began firing, CM told investigators.
CM suffered a gunshot wound to his right hand. McKinney was wounded in the abdomen and right forearm and required multiple surgeries during his recovery, according to the affidavit.
A neighbor’s video captured gunfire as the RAV4 began to leave, the detective wrote. The video also showed a person following the SUV on foot and firing two shots toward it. Investigators recovered five spent .380-caliber cartridge casings from the front yard and later found damage consistent with bullet holes on the SUV’s front passenger door.
Detectives identified Fowler as a suspect after reviewing witness accounts, the video and law enforcement records. A witness subsequently identified him in a photo lineup as the shooter, according to the affidavit.
A judge set bond at $500,000 per count.
