A 64-year-old man was shot and killed Wednesday afternoon while gardening outside his home near Southeast 3rd Street and 11th Avenue, and officers detained a 29-year-old man walking nearby minutes later, according to the Ocala Police Department.
Police identified the victim as Harold Whitt Harper. The man taken into custody is Isaac Ezekiel Toye, who faces one count of second-degree homicide and two counts of aggravated assault. Officials said two 911 calls—first about a suspicious person, then about a shooting—came in within minutes, allowing patrol units already headed to the area to locate a suspect quickly. Police Chief Mike Balken said there is no indication Harper and Toye knew each other. The case remains in the early stages, with detectives processing evidence and interviewing witnesses.
Shortly after 3:30 p.m., a caller reported a man dressed in black trying to flag down a driver in the 900 block of SE 3rd Street. The driver told dispatchers he saw the man manipulate what looked like a pistol as he pulled away. Within about three minutes, a second 911 call reported gunfire roughly a block to the east. Responding officers found Harper critically wounded in the front yard of his home as neighbors gathered on porches and traffic backed up on side streets. “It appears he was doing nothing more than gardening in his front yard,” Balken said, calling the shooting “senseless.”
As units fanned through the neighborhood, an officer spotted a man matching the initial description walking two blocks south on SE 11th Avenue and detained him. Police said a pistol was recovered and that witness statements and physical evidence place the same individual at both the suspicious-person call and the shooting scene. Investigators said there is no known motive and no sign the encounter was targeted. Balken said the incident “appears to be a random act of violence,” adding that detectives are reviewing home-security video and canvassing nearby properties. Officials noted Toye has minimal prior contact with Ocala police; any possible record elsewhere was not detailed.
The shooting unfolded a short distance from Osceola Middle School in a residential area east of downtown. Streets around Southeast 3rd Street and 11th Avenue were temporarily blocked as crime-scene technicians documented the front yard where Harper fell and placed evidence markers near the curb. Neighbors told officers they heard a single sharp crack followed by sirens. Harper’s wife had been in the yard with him shortly before the gunfire, according to police. The medical examiner will determine the exact cause and manner of death. Authorities have not said how many rounds were fired or who made the second 911 call.
Detectives booked Toye on one count of second-degree homicide and two counts of aggravated assault. He was taken to the Ocala Police Department for questioning and later transferred to jail, police said. An initial appearance in Marion County court is expected in the coming days, when a judge could address bond and set a preliminary hearing. Investigators said they will seek ballistics results and review digital evidence from doorbell cameras and store systems along nearby corridors. The State Attorney’s Office will review the case file and advise on any additional charges once lab reports are in.
By early evening, officers escorted a handcuffed Toye from police headquarters as residents watched from behind crime-scene tape. Patrol cars idled at intersections while detectives canvassed the block, knocking on doors and asking about video from earlier in the afternoon. “There’s no indication this was a targeted attack or that there are additional suspects,” Balken said. A neighbor described seeing officers move quickly between yards after the first report. Another resident left flowers near a mailbox as the street reopened overnight.
As of late Wednesday, police said the investigation is active and further updates are expected after preliminary lab findings and Toye’s first court appearance. Officials said the next milestone will be scheduling, then announcing, that hearing date and any additional releases tied to evidence testing.
Author note: Last updated January 7, 2026.