BRADENTON, FL — Police in Bradenton have identified a suspect in a shooting that killed two men on 12th Avenue East earlier this week, but that person has not yet been charged in the homicides. The Bradenton Police Department said Saturday that the suspect is in custody on unrelated charges while detectives continue to work the case.
Officers were called to the area at 6:20 p.m. on Sept. 22 after a report of a shooting. When they arrived, they found two people with gunshot wounds near the end of a dead-end road. Antonio Rosario, 30, was pronounced dead at the scene, and Willie Stubbs, 43, died while being taken to the hospital.
Police found two victims near the end of a dead-end road on 12th Avenue East
The shooting drew a fast response to a residential area where officers found the victims close to the end of the street. Police have not described what led to the gunfire or whether the men were targeted, and they have not said how many shots were fired.
What investigators do know is that both men suffered gunshot wounds and that the aftermath turned fatal for each of them. Rosario was declared dead where officers found him, while Stubbs was rushed for medical treatment but did not survive the trip to the hospital.
Authorities have not released any additional details about the scene, including whether witnesses were present or whether evidence was recovered right away. The road location remains central to the investigation as detectives try to reconstruct what happened in the minutes before officers arrived.
Antonio Rosario and Willie Stubbs were identified as the men who died
The victims were identified by police as Antonio Rosario, 30, and Willie Stubbs, 43. Their names give the case a more personal frame as detectives work through the facts of the shooting and notify family members.
Rosario died at the scene after officers located him near the dead-end road. Stubbs was still alive when emergency responders moved him toward the hospital, but he later died from his injuries. Bradenton police have not said which man was struck first or whether the injuries happened at the same time.
Officials also have not released information about whether the two men knew each other. For now, the confirmed public record is limited to their identities, their ages, and the fact that both died from gunshot wounds in the same incident.
A suspect was taken into custody, but the homicide case is still open
On Saturday, the Bradenton Police Department said a suspect was in custody, though only on charges unrelated to the double killing. Police said the person had not been charged in connection with the deaths of Rosario and Stubbs.
The department declined to name the suspect because the unrelated charges are still pending. It also did not disclose what those charges are, leaving the arrest separate from the homicide investigation for now.
That distinction matters because detectives have not yet made a public murder arrest. The case remains active, and police are still building the evidence needed to determine whether and when homicide charges could follow.
Detectives have not released the suspect's name or the unrelated charges
Bradenton police have kept key details under wraps, including the suspect’s identity and the exact basis for the unrelated arrest. That information has not been made public while the separate charges remain pending.
The department has also not described how the suspect came to be in custody or whether the arrest happened as part of the homicide investigation or through another law-enforcement matter. Those unanswered questions leave the public with a partial picture of the arrest.
Police routinely withhold names and charge details when cases are still active, and that appears to be the situation here. For now, the only confirmed link is that investigators believe the person in custody is connected to the shooting, even though no homicide charge had been filed as of Saturday.
The investigation continues as Bradenton police piece together what happened
Detectives are still working to determine the sequence of events that led to the shooting on Sept. 22. The department said the investigation remains ongoing, which means more information could emerge as witnesses are interviewed and evidence is reviewed.
So far, police have not said whether the shooting was random, whether there was a dispute before the gunfire, or whether any additional arrests are expected. They have also not identified a motive.
What is clear is that the case has already left two families without loved ones and prompted a continuing homicide probe in Bradenton. Until police announce more, the unanswered questions remain centered on who fired, why the shooting happened, and whether the suspect in custody will eventually face charges tied directly to the deaths.
