TAMPA, Fla. — In a press conference Sunday afternoon, Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw said the suspect in a shooting in Ybor City early Sunday morning has been charged with second-degree murder.
22-year-old Tyrell Phillips is in custody after two people died, one was seriously injured, and 15 others were shot following a fight that ended with gunshots during Halloween festivities in Ybor City early Sunday morning.
On Monday, Phillips made his first appearance in court. The Tampa 13th Judicial Circuit State Attorney Erin Maloney said she filed a pretrial detention motion saying Phillips should stay in jail before the trial due to the seriousness of the crime and the threat to safety.
Officers responded to the shooting in Tampa just before 3 a.m. on the 1600 block of East 7th Avenue in the Ybor City area, Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw said during a press conference at the scene.
The fight occurred in an area with several bars and clubs, and there were large numbers of late-night partiers in the area at the time, Bercaw said. Police were not immediately sure if the people involved in the fight were inside any of the bars before the shooting.
Video posted online shows people in Halloween costumes drinking and talking on the street when shots ring out, creating a stampede.
Some people toppled over metal tables and took cover behind them. Video from the aftermath showed police officers treating several people lying wounded on the ground.
A volley of about a dozen shots rang out, followed a few seconds later by a volley of about eight shots.
“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 said.
He did not provide details of the injuries suffered by the victims taken to area hospitals.
One of the victims was identified by his father as 14-year-old Elijah Wilson. His father, Emmitt Wilson, recounted seeing his son's body on the ground.
"It's painful, man, to see your child laying there," Emmitt Wilson told ABC Action News. "And there's nothing I can do but stand behind the yellow tape and just watch them take his body away. I can't go see him. This is my last time seeing him. It's, it's hard."
We spoke with the owner of Crowbar in Ybor. They held a charity event Saturday night benefiting underprivileged children.
One performer said when he was heading home he heard gunshots right before chaos flooded Ybor.
“I saw the crowd running from east to west on seventh. I was the first car in the intersection. So it's just, I mean hundreds and hundreds of people screaming and running," Mike Ingold explained.
The owner said he’s devastated this tragedy happened in his back yard, but he’s not surprised.
"I know people will want to make this an Ybor issue, but this is a national problem. And it's very sad and unfortunately, any area that you have a lot of people you have to be concerned about things like this happening," Tom Degeorge said.
Many of the additional victims have been medically treated and released from the hospital. Five remain in the hospital, recovering from their injuries.
Police said one suspect turned himself in, and investigators believe there were at least two shooters involved, Bercaw said.
Police are still investigating the reason for the fight between the two groups, he said.
Officers were at the scene at the time of the shooting, but none were injured, Bercaw said.
Investigators asked anyone with information that could assist in the investigation to call Tampa PD at 813-231-6130 or contact Crime Stoppers of Tampa Bay at 1-800-873-TIPS (8477).
