Ybor City Nightclub Fatal Shooting: Multiple People Shot Overnight Outside Ybor City Nightclub; 2 dead, 18 hurt
Ybor City Nightclub Fatal Shooting; Tampa police say it happened just before 3 a.m. Sunday in the area of Tangra Nightclub in the 1600 block of E 7th Ave.
Police chief Lee Bercaw said the incident started with a dispute between two groups. One person died at the scene, and a second died at a local hospital.
“This morning, it’s tragic that families have to wake up and see on the news what happened here tonight,” Bercaw said.
“We have to think about the families involved and the victims that were involved, and our hearts go out to them.”
The extent of the 18 injuries wasn’t immediately known, but they were taken to the hospital.
The police didn’t specify if all the injuries were gunshot-related.
More than four dozen officers were in the area during the investigation.
Emmitt Wilson said his 14-year-old son, Elijah, is one of the victims who was shot and killed. He told Spectrum News that his son was a good kid but sometimes hung out with the wrong crowd. He said he was heartbroken.
“You never expect this to happen,” Wilson said. “It was multiple people shot and he happened to be one of the unfortunate to take this. I have to take this loss right now.”
Bercaw said one person has turned himself in but said the investigation is in its early stages.
He said anyone with video of the incident should contact police at 813-231-6130 or Crime Stoppers of Tampa Bay at 1-800-873-TIPS (8477).
Bercaw said nearby businesses have offered to share their surveillance video.
In a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said: “Yet again, a senseless loss of life by those choosing to settle a dispute with firearms. Lives were lost and others were forever changed. To what end? The Tampa Police Department had 50 officers deployed in the area at the time, so this is not a law enforcement issue.
“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.”