Halloween Shooting in Tampa Leaves 2 Dead, 16 Injured

This weekend, Halloween celebrations in Tampa Bay, FL, were ruined when gunfire broke out.

According to reports, the streets were filled with hundreds of people when the shooting started, creating a stampede to get out of the area.

When the dust settled, two people were dead and another 18 were injured.

Craziness

The shooting took place around 3 a.m. local time in an area packed with bars and clubs in Ybor City neighborhood.

Local police said this all got started when a fight broke out between two groups, then escalated.

Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw stated, "It was a disturbance or a fight between two groups. And in this fight between two groups, we had hundreds of innocent people involved that were in the way."

Bercaw added, “We’re going to hold those accountable and we are going to bring them to justice, but we need the cooperation of the community for that, and that is our ask.”

One of the people killed in the shooting was 14-year-old Elijah Wilson, with his father stating, "They just said they had one person in custody, and I hope he's the person.”

I am wondering what a 14-year-old was doing out on the streets at 3 a.m., but that is a conversation for another time.

Of the 16 people who were injured, 15 of them were shot, and five remained in the hospital as of Sunday, still recovering from their wounds and injuries.

Tampa Mayor Jane Castor stated, “Lives lost and others forever changed. To what end?

“Bad decisions made in a split second and the proliferation of readily available guns are responsible for these almost daily incidents. We can affect one half of this equation.”

I would question if the firearms used in this shooting were acquired legally or illegally, as history has often found that the guilty parties were not law-abiding citizens and did not use legal means to obtain the weapons.

Police reportedly have one suspect in custody, Tyrell Stephen Phillips, 22, who has been charged with second-degree murder.