PALM BAY, Fla. — A Brevard County Grand Jury charged Clifford O. Long, 37, of Palm Bay, with the August 2025 shooting that killed a 2-year-old girl and injured her grandparents.
The indictment issued on March 31 also charged Long with two counts of attempted first-degree murder and one count of possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. These charges arise from an incident where police allege Long entered a Poplar Lane home and fired at three family members.
Melbourne Police investigators report that on August 29, 2025, a shooting happened at a home on Poplar Lane. Long reportedly broke into the family residence and shot grandmother Alicia Hayes in the hallway.
According to officials, he then went into a bedroom where 2-year-old Bles’syn Lightner and her grandfather, Haywood Hilton, were present, and shot both of them.
Long, also known as “Goof,” was identified as a suspect after months of investigation and follow-up interviews by Melbourne Police detectives. Records show that Long has a previous history of drug offenses and violence.
The identification process involved a description provided by Hilton, who described the shooter as a tall, thin, light-skinned man with a head shaped “like a football.”
Hilton later identified Long as the gunman during a police photo lineup. Long was also charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
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