There’s a new growing trend of mass shootings targeting Black people across the country. On Father’s Day a gunman opened fire at people lined up outside of a Miami nightclub, shooting 20 Black people.
And now this. On Sunday in Tampa, Florida during a Father’s Day picnic, a man indiscriminately opened fire at Black people – hitting 10 and killing one woman, MTO News confirmed.
A Tampa man is in custody after police say that he conducted a mass shooting at a Father’s Day event that killed one person and injured nine others.
Here’s video of the carnage:
The Sumter County Sheriff’s Office tells MTO News that the incident began when two people from Tampa – who have beef – “came upon each other” at the event. Police chief Haworth said the suspect, 22-year-old Rapheal Tyree Thomas, then pulled out a gun and fired at the other person.
Deputies responded to the shooting and identified Rapheal as the suspect with the help of bystanders. Body cam footage showed deputies found Thomas hiding under a car and pulled him out from his hiding place before restraining him.
Ten people were hospitalized for injuries sustained in the shooting, with one person dying and another remaining in the intensive care unit. Haworth identified the deceased victim as Cornecia Quanshay Smikle, 25, of Tampa.
The Father’s Day celebration is an annual event put on by Tampa residents on private property.
Rapheal currently faces one count of homicide, eight counts of aggravated battery, and one count of possession of a firearm by a felon.