At least three people were killed in two separate incidents in the US states of Florida and Indiana that left dozens injured. Two persons were killed after a major fight broke out between a couple of groups in Florida on Sunday morning, while 18 people were injured in the incident, according to police.
The fight occurred in an area with several bars and clubs in Tampa. Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw said that officers responded to the shooting in Tampa just before 3 am (local time) on the 1600 block of East 7th Avenue in the Ybor City area. There were large numbers of late-night revelers in the area at the time, Bercaw said.
“It was a disturbance or a fight between two groups. And in this fight between two groups we had hundreds of innocent people involved that were in the way,” Bercaw said. He did not provide details of the injuries suffered by the victims taken to area hospitals.
One suspect turned himself to the police, and investigators believe there were at least two shooters involved, the police chief further said. An investigation is underway into the fight.
One killed in Indianapolis
Furthermore, one person was killed and eight others were injured in a shooting at a party in Indianapolis on Sunday, CN reported citing authorities. Officers reportedly saw a large crowd fleeing the area after shots were fired.
One female, believed to be an adult, was pronounced dead at the scene, and multiple others were taken to area hospitals, said Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Officer Samone Burris. The victims range in age from 16 to 22 years old, as determined by preliminary investigation.
“Several people have been detained and investigators are still working to determine their exact involvement in this incident,” Burris said.
Maine shooting incident
The shooting incident come on the heels of a similar incident in Maine, where Robert Card, a former firearms instructor at a a US Army Reserve training facility, gunned down 18 civilians. It is arguably one of the deadliest shootings in the history of Maine and shook the state of 1.3 million people which has relatively little violent crime and had only 29 killings in all of 2022.
Card was later found dead on Friday (local time) from a self-inflicted gunshot, putting an end to a high-stakes search after the shooting shook the state and the United States.
According to local media, the shooting incident took place at three locations namely Schemengees Bar and Grille Restaurant, a Walmart store and Sparetime Recreation. Card, the suspect, was previously committed to a mental health facility for two weeks earlier this year, according to a document.
The victims included a 76-year-old retiree, two women and a 14-year-old boy. Auburn City Councilor Leroy Walker told news outlets that his son, Joe, a manager at the bar and grill, died going after the shooter with a butcher knife.
(with agency inputs)
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