Tampa Bay shooting suspect charged with murder after two people were shot and 15 others injured during Halloween party

One man is in custody after two people were shot and 15 others injured following a fight at a Halloween party in Tampa in the early hours of Sunday in one of three shootings across the country this weekend.

Tyrell Phillips, 22, is charged with second-degree murder in the case. The gunfire broke out around 3 a.m. near the Tangra nightclub in the Ybor City section of the city. The other suspect in the shooting is still on the run.

One of the victims died on the spot, while another was rushed to a nearby hospital where they were pronounced dead. A shocking total of 16 people were also taken to area hospitals, with 15 treated for gunshot wounds.

Among those who died was 14-year-old Elijah Wilson. His father told him Bay News 9 that his son was a good boy who got mixed up with the wrong people. The other victim has so far only been identified as a 22-year-old white man.

Only five of them are still in hospital, where their condition is stable. All victims are between 14 and 27 years old.

“We are making arrests quickly,” Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw said during a briefing. “We have a sense of urgency and if you go out with a gun, you’re going to have to pay for it.”

Later on Sunday, Elijah Wilson’s father, Emmitt, arrived at the scene of the shooting.

‘You never expect this to happen. Several people were shot and he happened to be one of the unfortunate ones to experience it. I have to take this loss now,” Wilson said.

It was not immediately known if Phillips had an attorney, and he remained jailed pending an initial court appearance, according to officials and local reports.

In recent years, the area has become known for its vibrant nightlife, and Tampa police spokeswoman Jonee Lewis said “hundreds” of people were on the streets at the time of Sunday’s shootings as numerous entertainment venues had just closed.

Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz tweeted that he and his wife were “heartbroken” about the shooting.

“Ybor City is a place of vibrancy and life in our beloved Florida. Ginger and I are deeply saddened to learn of the recent violence that has resulted in deaths and other casualties.”

Some residents were outraged by the comments, with one person responding, “I don’t know what you’re talking about in Ybor City, but it’s been a crime-ridden mess for 20 years.”

Another person wrote, “(Florida Governor Ron DeSantis) needs to go back to Florida and back to the job he is paid to do!!”

Alicia Duffy of New York New York Pizza, which operates in the area, said Bay News 9 that her staff barricaded themselves in the restaurant after hearing the gunshots.

“You don’t want anyone near windows. It’s a shame because people were screaming and trying to get in, but, but I can’t… and at our back door, people were trying to break down the back door. “I know people were scared, but we are scared too,” she said.

Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, a former chief of the city’s police department, lamented that Tampa was the center of national attention for “another shooting in our country.”

“We need to say as a country that enough is enough,” she said.

“The vast majority of Americans support responsible gun ownership. They also support reasonable regulations,” the mayor also said.

“You can’t stop a criminal from buying a gun,” Robert Riordan, who works at New York New York Pizza, told me. WFLA.

The early morning fight took place in an area of ​​several bars and clubs that was once the center of Tampa’s cigar industry.

A video posted online shows people, many in Halloween costumes, drinking and talking in the street as about a dozen shots ring out, followed seconds later by about eight others.

A stampede ensued, with some people falling over metal tables and taking cover behind them. Video of the aftermath shows police officers treating several people lying injured on the ground.

“It was a disturbance or a fight between two groups. And this fight between two groups involved hundreds of innocent people standing in the way,” Bercaw said.

He did not provide details about the injuries of the victims who were taken to area hospitals. Authorities later said most of the injured were treated and released.

Police are still investigating what led to the altercation between the two groups, he said.

Two young women who arrived at the scene Sunday morning said they decided not to go to Ybor City the night before because of the crowds.

“We know how Ybor is doing,” said Minna Cohen, a 23-year-old recent graduate of the University of Tampa. ‘A lot of crime often happens here. Sometimes you know you shouldn’t go to certain places.’

Her friend, 21-year-old Carolina Londoner, said that when the bars all close in the early morning hours, the streets are crowded and unruly.

“When everyone gets together, it gets messy, and it stays that way all night,” she said.