Gunfire near one of Tampa’s trendiest areas of town left families caught in the crossfire.
Innocent bystanders visiting near Armature Works were shot after the Tampa Police Department said two groups of teenagers got into a verbal altercation. All the victims survived their injuries from the shooting.
One of the victims hit by the bullets was Jenny Brown, a 28-year-old pregnant mother. She is still in the hospital recovering from surgery after being shot in both legs.
Her husband, Josh Brown, told FOX 13 that their new family tradition of “Taco Tuesday’s” at Stone’s Throw brought the young family to the riverfront the day of the shooting.
He said they had just moved to Tampa six months ago.
“What I love about Tampa is how family friendly it is. There’s so much to do for families,” said Josh.
But, their simple family moment of soaking up the sun and music took a terrifying turn. Josh said when he started hearing gunshots, he grabbed his baby and wife.
“I grabbed her and I was like, ‘get down on the ground.’ I was trying to shield them,” he said. “Then all of a sudden, I looked down. I saw blood everywhere. At first, I saw baby JayLynn. I thought she got hit. But then when I kept looking, I saw Jenny’s legs and saw that she got shot in both legs.”
A terrifying position for any parent, Josh said he carried his wife, who is currently four months pregnant, towards safety.
“The worst feeling that you could ever have as a parent is feeling helpless to help your family,” he said. “Like, that moment where I’m literally shielding them, there’s nothing else I can do.”
Jenny’s recovery is painful as she’s had surgery on both legs and is going through physical therapy. Josh said their unborn son was miraculously unharmed.
“She’s obviously very, very emotional,” he said. “The times that she has talked about it, she just doesn’t understand why her. She wants to take care of her baby.”
Josh now replays all the small moments and wonders if there would have been a different outcome, but he manages to find comfort in “survival.”
“It could have been so much worse from having it be a fatal shot for one or two of my family members or baby JayLynn,” Josh said.
He also thinks about the teenager accused of pulling the trigger and inflicting so much trauma. The Tampa Police Department arrested Gabriel Catuy, 17, one day after the shooting, and investigators are continuing to search for another person of interest, who is also a teenager.
“I just can’t believe like a gun was in his hands. And so, there’s got to be some changes to, you know, figure out how to fix that problem with having underage kids having guns,” Josh said.
And yet, in this painful time, he’s already thinking about forgiveness for the teen.
“I’m trying to get to that point. And, I’m hoping, through the power of Jesus Christ, that will be able to. I’m hoping, you know, at a time we’ll be able to forgive and not forget, obviously,” said Josh.
The husband and father said he’s thankful to the community. He said everyone has been amazing and hugely supportive, and his family is also thankful to the Tampa police officers who responded to the scene.
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Source: Fox13news
