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Polk County sheriff: Bartow man shot, killed while on dirt bike

Deputies are still trying to figure out who shot him.

BARTOW, Fla. — Polk County Sheriff's deputies say they are searching for the shooter who killed a 34-year-old Bartow man while he was riding on a dirt bike.

It happened just after 2 p.m. Sunday on Wheeler Street in northeast Bartow. When first responders arrived, they found the man had been shot. He was rushed to the hospital where he died.

Deputies said an autopsy showed the man had been shot in his lower back and the bullet traveled through his kidney, diaphragm and lung. 

“At this early stage of the investigation, we don’t know why the victim was murdered," Sheriff Grady Judd said in a statement. "Somebody out there has information, even the smallest detail that could help us capture the killer. A family has lost a loved one, and we need to bring his killer to justice.”

The sheriff's office is asking anyone with information about the murder to call deputies at 863-298-6200. Anonymous tips can be submitted to Heartland Crime Stoppers at 1-800-226-8477. Anonymous tippers could be eligible for a $3,000 reward if an arrest is made based on that tip. 

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