Shooting in Ybor City kills 2 amid Halloween events
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Tampa police officials at a briefing after the shooting. Photo: Tampa Police Department
Police have made an arrest in a shooting that killed two people and sparked chaos amid Halloween celebrations in Ybor City early Sunday.
Driving the news: Tampa officers responded to the shooting on East 7th Avenue about 2:45 a.m., Tampa Police Department spokesperson Eddy Durkin said in a statement.
- Police say they believe a fight between two groups "escalated to gunfire."
- Two people died in the shooting, a 20-year-old man and a 14-year-old boy, Durkin said. Their names have not been released.
- Tampa Fire Rescue took an additional 16 victims ranging in age from 18 to 27 to local hospitals, 15 of whom had been shot, Durkin said. Five remained hospitalized Sunday afternoon.
The latest: Police said they arrested 22-year-old Tyrell Stephen Phillips and charged him with second-degree murder.
Zoom in: The gunfire occurred on a busy night for Ybor City, the weekend before Halloween, when many turn out in costume to celebrate at area bars.
- The shooting was near Centro Ybor, with officers finding injured people outside Tangra Nightclub, the Tampa Bay Times reported.
- Videos posted online showed a chaotic scene, with bystanders fleeing the gunfire and officers tending to the wounded.
What they're saying: In a statement posted on X, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor described the incident as a "senseless loss of life by those choosing to settle a dispute with firearms."
- "Bad decisions made in a split second and the proliferation of readily available guns are responsible for these almost daily incidents," she added. "We can affect one half of this equation."
- Gov. Ron DeSantis said his administration had been "in constant contact" with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and was "offering all available resources to local law enforcement to respond to this terrible situation," per a statement.
What's next: Durkin said detectives are working to gather surveillance video from local businesses, in order to identify all those involved in the gunfight.
- Anyone with information is asked to call TPD at 813-231-6130 or Crime Stoppers of Tampa Bay at 1-800-873-8477.
Editor's note: This story may be updated as news breaks.