Florida career criminal arrested after chasing down ex-girlfriend and shooting her one-year-old son

On July 23, the Broward Sheriff’s Office reported that their deputies arrested a nine-time convicted felon involved in the shooting of a one-year-old child in Florida’s unincorporated Central Broward. The shooter has been identified as 36-year-old Jeffrey Simmons of Fort Lauderdale.

Around 8:57 p.m. on Sunday, Broward County Regional Communications received a report of a shooting in the area of 2620 W. Broward Blvd. BSO deputies and Fort Lauderdale Police responded. A young boy was found to have sustained a gunshot wound. The child was transported to a local hospital with injuries that were not life threatening.

Detectives with BSO’s Special Victim’s Unit responded to the scene. Detectives believe the incident originated outside of the Kentucky Fried Chicken located at 3061 West Sunrise Blvd. in unincorporated Central Broward. The victim’s mother left the KFC only to be followed by her ex-boyfriend, Jeffrey Simmons, in a separate vehicle.

Just east of Northwest 27th Avenue on West Sunrise Boulevard, Simmons shot at the victim’s vehicle twice. The victim then fled south on Northwest 27th Avenue with Simmons still in pursuit of the victim until the incident ended in the parking lot near Marshalls on West Broward Boulevard. Simmons then exited his vehicle and fired two shots into the victim’s vehicle, one of which struck the victim’s one-year-old son before he fled the scene.     

Detectives said the woman tried to get away, but Simmons followed the car into a parking lot near Marshalls on Broward Boulevard, where he fired two more shots, one of which wounded her son.  ~ WPTV

The BSO Violent Intervention Proactive Enforcement Response (V.I.P.E.R.) Unit, in coordination with BSO Special Victim’s Unit, K9, Aviation and the Fort Lauderdale Police Department’s Rapid Offender Control (ROC) Unit, took Simmons into custody around 1 a.m. on Wednesday, July 22. Simmons was arrested without incident.

Simmons is currently being held at the BSO Main Jail without bond on charges of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, missile into a building and possession of weapon or ammo by a convicted felon.

“Not only is he violent, but he shot into a car with three young children in there,” BSO spokesperson Miranda Grossman said. “Two of them were 1 years old, and one of them was an 8-year-old.” ~ WSVN

The sheriff’s office reported that surgery for the one-year-old baby boy was successful; however, it is unknown at this time what physical limitations the child has suffered. 

(Jeffrey Simmons Booking Photo, Image credit: Broward Sheriff’s Office / Source: BSO)

~  Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today / Connect with Richard on Facebook and Twitter