Key Takeaways
- A woman was shot and injured late Sunday, September 6, when someone in a passing vehicle fired five to eight rounds into a crowd gathered outside Vibes and Smoothies on North 9th Avenue in Pensacola.
- Pensacola’s mayor said the shooting marked the 32nd police response to the business since March and said the department had already met with the owners about conditions at the location.
- The police chief said officers seized six illegally possessed firearms at the business the night before the shooting.
Woman Injured in Drive-By Shooting Outside Pensacola Smoothie Shop
Pensacola Police responded at about 10:39 p.m. on Sunday, September 6, to a shooting outside Vibes and Smoothies at 3012 North 9th Avenue, according to WKRG, which cited a department news release. Officers said a white vehicle, possibly a Buick Envista, was traveling north on 9th Avenue when a person inside fired five to eight shots into a crowd gathered outside the business.
A woman was struck by a single round, and her injuries are not life-threatening, according to WEAR. Police said they have no reason to believe she was targeted and that the vehicle was last seen heading westbound on Bayou Boulevard from 9th Avenue. Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Kenneth McMahon at 850-435-1979 or Crime Stoppers at 850-433-STOP, according to FOX10 News.
Pensacola Mayor DC Reeves briefed reporters on Wednesday, September 9, saying the police department was already familiar with problems at the location. Reeves said officers had responded to 32 calls for service at the business since March, a mix of reactive and proactive calls, and that the department had held many meetings with the owners about the atmosphere developing in and around the club, according to WEAR.
Those calls included noise complaints and burglary alarms along with numerous drug and illegal firearm investigations and arrests, Reeves said, describing the location as enough of a nuisance that officials were seeing recurring violations of laws and rules, WEAR reported. Reeves also pointed to an August 29 incident in which a man wanted on an active felony child neglect warrant ran from officers into the business office, where he was allowed by the owner to hide before surrendering.
Police Chief Eric Winstrom said the business had been allowing unruly behavior in its parking lot, citing alcohol being served past 3 a.m. and patrons drinking from open containers on the premises, according to WKRG. Winstrom said those small violations accumulate over time. He said officers had confiscated six illegally possessed firearms at the business on Saturday night and that the department intends to continue proactive work there while wanting the business to succeed and be safe.
Reeves compared the situation to an earlier public safety dispute involving Club Climax that the city resolved in 2023 and said business owners share responsibility for safety alongside the police department, WEAR reported.
What This Shooting Means for Negligent Security Claims
Under Florida law, a business that invites the public onto its property owes those visitors a duty of reasonable care, and that duty can include taking reasonable measures to protect them from criminal acts by third parties when such acts are foreseeable. The duty attaches to the property the business controls and to the conditions it creates or permits there.
The gunfire in this case came from a vehicle on a public street, and no business controls who drives down North 9th Avenue. That fact matters, but it is not the end of the analysis. The woman who was hit was standing in a crowd outside the business, late at night, and how that crowd came to be gathered there is a question about the property rather than the street. A business that draws or permits late-night crowds on its premises has created a condition there, and the law asks what reasonable steps it took to manage that condition.
Foreseeability is usually the hardest element to establish in a negligent security case, and it is normally built from records that only surface in litigation. Here, city officials have publicly described a substantial part of that record. The history of police activity at Vibes + Smoothies—including 32 police responses in roughly six months, repeated meetings between police and ownership, drug and firearm investigations and arrests at the location, and the seizure of six illegally possessed firearms the night before the shooting—could be relevant to determining what the owner knew or should have known about the risk of violence on the property.
Key Factors in Evaluating a Potential Claim
Details that typically matter in evaluating whether a business met its duty to protect people on its property include:
- Whether the business employed security personnel during the late-night hours when crowds gathered outside, and how many
- Whether lighting and camera coverage of the parking lot and the area outside the building were adequate and in working order
- What changes, if any, in ownership were made after the repeated police responses and the meetings the department says it held with the owners
- Whether the business had any written policy for managing, limiting, or dispersing crowds gathering on the premises after hours
- Whether alcohol was served or consumed on the property outside permitted hours, and how that was supervised
- Whether the business documented and acted on earlier incidents at the location, including the weapons seizures and arrests officials described
The shooting remains under investigation, and statements from city officials are allegations and characterizations, not court findings.
But when a woman standing outside a business is struck by gunfire, and city officials say police had already responded to the location more than 30 times since March, it is reasonable to ask whether the business took appropriate steps to address known safety risks and protect people on its property.
Were You Injured in the Vibes and Smoothies Shooting or a Similar Incident?
If you or someone you love was injured in the shooting outside Vibes and Smoothies or in a violent incident at another business, bar, club, or commercial property in Florida, you may have legal options against the business owner or operator.
At Andreozzi + Foote, we represent victims of negligent security at businesses, nightlife venues, and other commercial properties, holding owners and operators accountable when inadequate security staffing, lighting, camera coverage, or crowd management contributes to a preventable injury. Our team can help you understand whether a business met its legal duty to protect you and what compensation may be available for your medical bills, lost income, and pain and suffering.
Every consultation is free and confidential.
