Jason L. Hibbert, a 39-year-old resident of Stuart, Florida, was fatally shot on April 1, 2024, after a minor verbal dispute. Officers found Hibbert at about 11:45 a.m. outside 806 South-East Spruce Avenue with at least one gunshot wound. Stuart Police performed CPR until Stuart Fire Rescue arrived and Hibbert was air-lifted to HCA Florida Lawnwood Hospital in Fort Pierce; he was pronounced dead at 12:46 p.m.

The suspect ran south on Spruce Avenue after the shooting and was later identified as 17-year-old Ro’Thonio Wilson. A coordinated response by the Stuart Police Department, the Martin County Sheriff’s Office, and an MCSO K-9 unit established a perimeter and tracked the suspect to 937 South-East Spruce Avenue, where he was detained exiting the residence. After a court-ordered search warrant produced evidence linking Wilson to the crime, he was arrested and charged with second-degree murder; he was booked at the Martin County Jail and then transported to the Juvenile Detention Center in Fort Pierce.

The shooting prompted precautionary lockdowns at three nearby public schools and a temporary lockdown of the county courthouse while the suspect was at large. If anyone saw or heard anything about the confrontation on South-East Spruce Avenue that morning, please share information with investigators.