On July 12, 2023, three men were shot to death in a Daytona Beach neighborhood; one of the victims was 64-year-old John Birch. The shootings occurred around 6:30 a.m. on Park Drive near Martin Luther King Boulevard. Birch, who lived across the street from the suspect, Jerome Lloyd Anderson, was found in the street outside Anderson’s home with multiple gunshot wounds.

Two other victims were Antone Desmon Melvin, 42, found with a gunshot wound in the kitchen of the house where he lived with Anderson, and Patrick Lasseter, 35, a homeless man who was found shot multiple times at the intersection of Martin Luther King Boulevard and Park Drive. A fourth person was shot at but reportedly escaped; police are trying to locate that individual and believe he may not have been struck.

Anderson, 38, called 911, told dispatch he acted in self-defense, and was arrested at the scene after officers ordered him to drop a handgun; he was also found holding a cellphone. He faces three counts of first-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and had an outstanding warrant for aggravated battery and tampering with a witness. The motive remains under investigation and Anderson’s self-defense claim is noted as central to forthcoming court arguments.

Did anyone in the neighborhood see or hear anything around 6:30 a.m. that morning?