Four people were hurt during a shooting Tuesday afternoon near Armature Works in Tampa, according to Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw.
He said officers responded just after 4 p.m. to reports of a shooting in the area of the 1900 block of North Ola Avenue. According to TPD, a “disturbance” between two groups quickly erupted into gunfire near the popular spot near downtown Tampa.
Four people were injured during the shooting, and three of those victims were shot. The Tampa Police Department did not confirm how the other person was hurt, but all the victims have non-life-threatening injuries.
“That’s extremely disappointing, because we’re in a family environment here,” Bercaw said. “Where people come to relax and enjoy their day, myself even on my day off.”
The Tampa police chief did say that a witness came forward and provided video to investigators that has led to promising leads. They are asking the community to continue providing tips and videos as they continue their investigation.
“Everything happened so fast. I had no clue, I didn’t know where the gunshots were coming from,” said a woman named Val, who told FOX 13 she was sitting on the patio near Stone’s Throw having a work meeting when shots shattered the lively atmosphere. One of those bullets struck a young pregnant mother next to her.
“We thought it was fireworks and then we heard it again, so we went under the table, and the people who were right behind me was a family. And I took her baby and I grabbed her and I just tried to protect her baby. But she (the mother) got shot. So then we just didn’t know what to do until we heard more gunshots and then some security came over, and he told us to run, so we ran over to the restaurant… and like, her husband was trying to carry her, but she got shot in her leg.”
Val said she had no idea how it started.
“It was really out of nowhere to be honest. It took a few gunshots for me to realize what was happening,” she said.
But when it was all over, police said three innocent bystanders were shot, while a fourth victim may have been shot and could have been involved in the disturbance.
Evidence markers covered the ground as investigators pieced it all together.
“You can imagine the videos we are going through, its tedious. I have a multitude of detectives out here I have the ATF, the FBI I have the state attorneys office that’s all part of this investigation,” said Bercaw.
A few hours into the investigation, the chief told us a witness shared a video he says gave detectives a promising lead.
“We do not tolerate this. We will find them. We will charge this and the state attorney’s office will prosecute them,” said Bercaw.
Anyone with information or video is asked to contact the Tampa Police Department.
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Source: Fox13news
