Louisiana College Student Shot During Spring Break Trip to Florida

(KPEL-FM) - College students across South Louisiana are soaking up the last few days of spring break before going back to wrap up the end of their semesters.

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What is supposed to be a time to let loose and regroup before finals turned into a nightmare for one Louisiana college student.

The student's identity and college affiliation have not been disclosed for his privacy.

On Thursday, just after 1 am, a college student from Louisiana was robbed at gunpoint and shot.

KLFY reported that the victim was on Holiday Rd. in Miramar Beach, Florida, when someone who matches the same description of a car burglary suspect in the area robbed and shot the college student.

Once authorities arrived on the scene, the victim was transported to a hospital where he was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

Previously, Walton County Sheriff's deputies have responded to multiple car burglary reports in the Miramar Beach area and believe the same individuals were involved in this incident.

Authorities have detained three suspects who are believed to be connected to the burglaries and shooting involving the Louisiana college student.

There are no further details at this time.

UPDATE 3:00 PM: Suspects detained in Cook County, Georgia, following shooting, car burglaries in Walton County.

Over the weekend, the Walton County Sheriff's Office responded to multiple reports of car burglaries in Miramar Beach. Our agency quickly took action, canvassing the areas surrounding the burglaries, increasing patrols, and developing suspect descriptions.

Early Thursday morning, our agency began to receive additional reports of vehicle burglaries at a parking lot located off Chat Holley and 331 S, as well as additional burglaries along the Highway 98 corridor west to Miramar Beach.

At around 1:15 am today, deputies responded to reports of a shooting off Holiday Road in Miramar Beach, where the victim was robbed by a person fitting the description of one of the vehicle burglary suspects from over the weekend. The victim was shot during the robbery and transported to the hospital by a Walton County Sheriff's Office Sergeant with non-life-threatening injuries. The victim does not live locally and was visiting Walton County from Louisiana.

It should be noted that in just minutes, a Sergeant and a Lieutenant were on the scene of the shooting. They provided aid to the victim and ultimately transported him to the hospital by patrol car.

Our Crime Analysts, Patrol Deputies, and Investigators identified a suspect vehicle fleeing minutes after the incident and began tracking the car north. That effort lasted through the early morning hours until the car was stopped in Cook County, Georgia, at around 11:15 am. Three people are detained, and our agency has sent personnel up to interview them.

More information will be released once it's available.

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WCSO ACTIVELY WORKING RASH OF CAR BURGLARIES IN MIRAMAR BEACH

Our agency is currently investigating numerous reports of car burglaries along Highway 98 in several neighborhoods and business plazas from the Okaloosa County line to Grand Boulevard.

We ask anyone who believes they may be a victim to please call and report it to us at (850)-892-8111.

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