Arrest made in Halloween weekend's fatal shooting in Tampa
Published:Sunday | October 29, 2023 | 6:58 PM
TAMPA, Florida (AP) — A man has been arrested in Tampa, Florida, in a mass shooting that erupted during Halloween festivities early Sunday. Two people were killed and 18 injured, police said.
At least two shooters opened fire just before 3 a.m. in the Ybor City area, Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw said during a news conference at the scene.
Later Sunday he said detectives arrested Tyrell Stephen Phillips, 22, in connection with the shooting. He was charged with second-degree murder with a firearm.
"My heart goes out to the families," Bercaw said in a news briefing posted online. He called the gun violence "extremely tragic" and said police would not tolerate it.
Earlier, authorities said one suspect was in custody and at least one other was being sought, but Bercaw did not immediately say Sunday afternoon whether police were seeking anyone else after Phillips' arrest.
"We make arrests quickly," Bercaw said in the briefing. "We have a sense of urgency and if you are going to be out there with a gun, you are going to pay for it."
It was not immediately known if Phillips had an attorney, and he remained jailed pending an initial court appearance Monday, according to officials and local reports.
Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, a former city police chief, lamented that Tampa was the focus of national attention for "yet another shooting in our country."
"We've got to say, as a country, that enough is enough," she said.
The early morning fight occurred in an area with several bars and clubs that was once the centre of Tampa's cigar industry. In more recent years, the area has been known for its lively nightlife, and Tampa police spokeswoman Jonee Lewis said "hundreds" of people were on the streets at the time of Sunday's shootings because numerous nightspots had just closed.
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