FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - A South Florida NAACP office was left riddled with bullet holes after someone fired shots in the area.

Fort Lauderdale Police said they received 911 calls reporting the shooting along the 1100 block of Northwest Sixth Street, at around 11 p.m. on Monday.

Video shows two windows of the Broward County branch of the NAACP pierced by bullet holes.

One witness, who didn’t want to show his face on camera, said he heard at least half a dozen shots.

“I heard a ‘pow’ and a couple more ‘pows’ after that, maybe five or six. About five rounds,” he said.

He added that his bedroom faces the organization so he was worried about the destination of the shots.

“The shots were so close that I just sat by my bed and hoping that nothing comes through the window,” he said.

Hours after the shooting occurred, police confirmed the building was unoccupied and no one was hurt in the incident.

“The first thing I thought about was the girl that works there. I don’t know if it was targeted at her or whatever, but somebody’s trying to send a message,” said the witness. “It’s crazy man. It’s a lot going on.”

At a Wednesday press conference, officials said It’s unclear whether or not the civil rights organization was targeted.

Also at the press conference, the NAACP FTL Broward Branch President Marsha Ellison said she was upset over how the police handled the shooting.

She said that she had to find the bullet that went through the window, instead of the police, and she called it unacceptable.

“There are rounds that were fired in this building. No action, nobody contacted me. We are demanding the same service, the same amount of resources, what they call it, is happened over on the other side.

Officials said the gun violence must stop.

“The safety of everybody here is important to me and we’re not going to allow someone to come into our community and shoot up the NAACP, attack our community. In our hood, when you come for any part of us or one of us, you come for all of us. We have to stop the gun violence and we need to get to the bottom of what happened, why it happened. Somebody needs to be arrested and it needs to be very public for people to know that we are not going to tolerate it,” said Florida State Sen. Rosalind Osgood.

Earlier, Broward County Commissioner Robert McKinzie reacted to the Monday night shooting.

“Gunfire anywhere is an issue, and at the NAACP house, it’s even more concerning. If it goes down that road, right now we have no idea in terms of whether it was targeted or random,” he said. “Fort Lauderdale PD is actively working this case to find out the facts.”

Detectives said an investigation is underway.

In addition, police have issued a “be on the lookout” alert for someone that they have identified as a possible person of interest.

If you have any information on this incident that could help police, call Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a reward of up to $5,000.

Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Join our Newsletter for the latest news right to your inbox