POLK COUNTY, Fla. — A 27-year-old Lakeland man was arrested and charged with five counts of attempted murder after allegedly shooting at his former business partner's home on Wednesday, according to the sheriff's office.
Victims at the scene say they believe Michael Stribling was upset about his business partner's decision to leave the company, the sheriff's office wrote in a statement.
According to deputies, Stribling arrived at his former business partner's home with a rifle 20 minutes after the former partner returned to a work van.
No one was hurt during the shooting. However, one person was hit in the arm by shrapnel, but refused treatment, deputies reported. One victim told deputies she heard about six to ten shots.
“The fact that nobody was seriously injured in an attack like this is both astonishing and fortunate," said Sheriff Grady Judd.
"Business partnerships end all the time…but going out and trying to end someone’s life for it while endangering the lives of four other people in the process is completely unhinged.”
According to deputies, several witnesses say they saw Stribling at the scene and reportedly flee in his truck. Deputies say they found Stribling a short time later at his north Lakeland home.
During a search of Stribling’s home, Polk County detectives say they recovered five firearms, ammunition that matched casings found at the scene of the shooting, marijuana, methamphetamine, and drug paraphernalia.