Shooting incident at local motel leaves one injured

A transient was charged with attempted murder following a shooting incident at a local motel.

At approximately 9 a.m., officers with the Panama City Police Department were called to the Relax Inn at 900 Harrison Avenue in reference to a shooting. Upon arrival, officers discovered one victim, a transient, had been shot three times inside a second-floor room at the motel.

During their investigation, detectives with the department learned that the suspect, Christopher Lorenzo Hatcher, 45, also a transient, had a verbal altercation with the victim inside one of the rooms. Witnesses heard gunshots and saw Hatcher fleeing the scene on foot.

An extensive search of the area followed by officers with the PCPD as well assistance from the Bay County Sheriff’s Office and the Lynn Haven Police Department. Hatcher was located after climbing a fence into a secured area at the Department of Juvenile Justice facility on 11th Street and was taken into custody without incident.

Hatcher has been charged with attempted murder and a felon in possession of a firearm and booked into the Bay County Jail. The victim in the case was transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The case remains under investigation.