Halloween weekend mass shooting leaves two dead and 16 injured in Tampa
Two people were killed and 16 injured after at least two gunmen opened fire during Halloween celebrations in Florida.
The deadly shooting took place around 3.00am early Sunday morning along a popular strip of bars in Tampa’s Ybor City neighborhood.
Hundreds of people were still out in the historic neighborhood in eastern Tampa, celebrating Halloween in an area with dozens of music venues, comedy clubs, and nightclubs.
The shooting began when two groups of people on the strip got into a dispute, Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw said.
‘Between these two groups, we had hundreds of innocent people involved that were in the way,’ the police chief said.
The victims killed were identified by police as a 22-year-old man and a 14-year-old boy.
The younger victim was identified as Elijah Jaquan Williams by his father, Emmett Williams.
‘He was 14 years old, at the wrong place at the wrong time,’ Williams told local station WFLA.
Another 16 people were injured during the shootout, Bercaw said at a press conference on Sunday. A total of 15 of those injured were struck by bullets.
‘This is extremely tragic,’ Bercaw said. ‘What happened is completely unacceptable and the Tampa Police Department is not going to tolerate it.’
Tyrese Stephen Phillips, 22, was charged with second-degree murder with a firearm. The second shooter has not yet been arrested.
‘If you’re going to be out there with a gun, you’re going to pay for it,’ Bercaw said.
Mayor Jane Castor called Tampa ‘one of the safest cities in the nation,’ but pleaded with residents and lawmakers to do more to end gun violence.
‘We have got to say as a country that enough is enough,’ Castor said. ‘The vast majority of Americans support responsible firearm ownership. They also support reasonable regulations.’
State Attorney Suzy Lopez called the shooting ‘despicable and horrific.’
‘We stand ready to vigorously prosecute anyone who resorts to senseless gun violence and harms our community,’ Lopez said.
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