TAMPA, Fla. – The shooter who claimed the lives of two and injured sixteen others in an early morning mass shooting in Ybor City, Tampa, is behind bars.
Tyrell Stephen Phillips, 22, is charged with murder in the second degree.
Two victims, a 14-year-old black male, and a 20-year-old white male, died as a result of injuries sustained in the shooting. Sixteen (16) additional victims were quickly triaged at the scene and transported by Tampa Fire Rescue to nearby hospitals with related injuries, fifteen (15) of which were gunshot wounds.
Many of the additional victims, who ranged in age from 18-27 years old, have been medically treated and released from the hospital. Five remain in the hospital, recovering from their injuries.
“We received tips, of plethora tips, that came through, and because of those tips, we were able to charge Tyrell Stephen Phillips, 22 years old, with second-degree murder with a firearm,” said Tampa Police Cheif Lee Bercaw.
Early on Sunday morning, during Halloween celebrations in Ybor City, a fight broke out with gunshots, leaving two people dead and eighteen hospitalized.
According to Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw, during a press conference held at the scene, officers responded to the shooting in Tampa just before three in the morning on the 1600 block of East 7th Avenue in the Ybor City area.
According to Bercaw, there were a lot of late-night partygoers in the vicinity at the time of the fight, which took place near a number of bars and clubs. Before the shooting, the police did not know for sure if any of the individuals fighting had been inside any of the bars.
Online footage shows people talking and drinking in the street while dressed as Halloween characters just before gunfire breaks out, causing a stampede.
The video below contains strong language.
A few people threw over metal tables and ran for cover. Police officers were seen treating multiple wounded people who were laying on the ground in footage from the aftermath.
There was a burst of around twelve shots, and then, a few seconds later, there were 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.
According to Bercaw, there were officers present at the location when the gunshot occurred, but none was injured.
Investigators encouraged anyone with information that could help with the investigation to give Crime Stoppers of Tampa Bay a call at 1-800-873-TIPS (8477) or Tampa Police at 813-231-6130.
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