Police in Florida say a fight between two groups turned deadly when a shooting in a city street resulted in two deaths and 18 people hospitalized.
apnews.com
“Police have not released the names of those killed, but Emmitt Wilson said his 14-year-old son, Elijah, was one of the fatalities. Wilson came to the scene Sunday after getting a call that his son was a victim.
“It’s madness to me. I don’t even feel like I’m here right now,” Wilson said. “I hope the investigators do their job and find out who killed my son.”
Video posted online shows people, many in Halloween costumes, drinking and talking on the street when about a dozen shots ring out followed seconds later by about eight more, creating a stampede. Some people topple over metal tables and take cover behind them. Video from the aftermath shows police officers treating several people lying wounded on the ground.”
“Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, a former city police chief, said the problem isn’t a lack of policing, but the easy access to guns.
“Yet again, a senseless loss of life by those choosing to settle a dispute with firearms. Lives lost and others 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,” she said in a statement.”
If cops and former cops united on this issue, maybe that would make a difference. Unfortunately too many cops are also right wing gun nuts.
www.usatoday.com
