In a quiet Port Charlotte neighborhood, a violent sequence of events shattered the peace on a Monday in late March 2026. A man was found deceased in his home on Malone Avenue, the victim of a fatal shooting. While authorities had not officially released his name, neighbors believed the man who lived at the residence was Charlie Anderson. The discovery of his body would trigger a massive manhunt for the individual suspected of his murder, a 32-year-old named Matthew Ryan Cross.
The search
for Cross quickly escalated, prompting soft lockdowns at several local schools as deputies from the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office, assisted by multiple agencies, swarmed the area. Cross was considered armed and dangerous, and the search was concentrated in a wooded area near the intersection of Yorkshire Street and Veterans Boulevard. A SWAT team was deployed, and law enforcement could be heard using megaphones to try and coax the suspect out of hiding. The tense situation unfolded over several hours, with residents in the vicinity being warned to stay indoors.
The manhunt reached its deadly conclusion later that day. After being located, Cross reportedly pointed a gun at his own head before aiming it at the assembled law enforcement officers. In response, seven officers from both the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office and the Northport Police Department opened fire, fatally wounding Cross. It was later revealed that Cross had a criminal history that included charges of burglary and grand theft of a firearm. Court documents also indicated a history of mental health issues, including a traumatic brain injury, which had previously led to him being deemed incompetent to stand trial. The investigation into both the initial homicide on Malone Avenue and the subsequent officer-involved shooting of Matthew Cross is ongoing.
