Police in Tampa, in the US state of Florida (southeast), arrested a suspect accused of two murders and several injuries after gunfire caused chaos yesterday Sunday in a neighborhood of bars and nightclubs while hundreds of people, mostly young people, were out celebrating the Halloween, authorities said.
Of the total of sixteen wounded, fifteen were hit by bullets, according to the authorities.
Tyrell Steven Phillips, 22, has been charged with manslaughter after he allegedly killed a 14-year-old and a 20-year-old after an early morning fight between two groups of people in Tampa's historic Ybor City neighborhood, police said.
Videos uploaded to X (formerly Twitter) show the pandemonium that prevailed as hundreds of people ran for safety in the dark, with more than ten gunshots ringing in the background. In some of the videos, police officers are shown trying to help bloodied citizens on sidewalks.
Many of the injured, aged between 18 and 27, have been discharged from hospitals where they were treated after receiving first aid, police said.
Tampa Police Chief Lee Berko said information provided by citizens to law enforcement agencies was instrumental in identifying and arresting the suspect.
It's unclear if authorities are looking for other suspects.
Video shows people fleeing in all directions during a Halloween event in Tampa, Florida. According to CNN, a 22-year-old suspect has been arrested and charged with second-degree murder in a shooting that resulted in two fatalities and 16 injuries. pic.twitter.com/3kSkLLmHLO
- Global Times (@globaltimesnews) October 30, 2023
The US is paying an extremely heavy price for the widespread proliferation of weapons on its soil and the ease with which Americans can gain access to them. The country has more guns (some 400 million) than residents, one in three adults owns at least one gun and nearly one in two lives in a household with more than one gun.
A consequence of this proliferation is the extremely high rate of deaths due to violent incidents involving the use of weapons in the country, which bears no comparison with those in other economically developed nations.
Source: RES-EAP