Posted on 04/21/2014 10:01:54 AM PDT by Iron Munro
Bullet casings and plastic Easter eggs lay scattered in the grass after a gunfight broke out Sunday in a park crowded with families and children celebrating the holiday.
When police arrived at Alfred "Al" Barnes Jr. Park around 5 p.m., two young men were dead and two others were rushed to Tampa General Hospital with serious injuries.
A person dressed as the Easter bunny, who had been entertaining families earlier, joined children behind crime scene tape as investigators combed the scene.
"It was a family day," said Lt. Ronald McMullen, a spokesman for Tampa police. "We had been in and out of the parks all day. And it was family fun."
Police identified the dead as Nico Charles Crawford, 22, and Zedmon Culpepper, 17, both from Tampa. Police were not yet identifying the persons who were injured, whom McMullen described as a male and a female, both in critical but stable condition.
The park, at 2902 N 32nd St. north of Ybor City, was filled with families observing the holiday with barbecues, an Easter egg hunt and other traditions. At least some of the shooting victims were at the park with their families as well, McMullen said.
Shawn Howard, 36, was driving by the park earlier in the afternoon with her two daughters when she saw the holiday festivities and decided to stop.
"It was so nice and peaceful as everyone's celebrating Easter," Howard said. "And then this happened and everyone's running everywhere."
Howard made sure her daughters were safe before she moved closer to the baseball diamond near where the shots were fired.
"When I saw them on the ground, I thought, 'That's somebody's child,' " Howard said. "The girl, she looked like she wanted to get up but couldn't."
Howard knelt by the female victim and held her until police arrived. Police suspect the female victim, who was shot in the torso and wrist, was a bystander caught in the crossfire.
"She kept saying, 'My stomach is burning,' " Howard said. "I just held her and tried to keep her calm."
McMullen said police were searching for three to four people who left the scene before officers arrived, describing them as "persons of interest." Police took one person into custody later Sunday evening, he said, but had not named him as a suspect.
Police searched the grass surrounding one of the bodies for shell casings, trying to determine how many shots were fired. A purple Easter basket, its handle snapped in half, lay nearby. Plastic eggs — blue, yellow, orange and purple — covered the distance between the body and the playground.
"Easter is a day of religion and celebration," said Tameka Johnson, 38. "It's so sad. How could this happen when children were around?"
Added Tanya Benton, 37: "I would never bring my children to something like this on Easter now. My heart goes out to all of the children."
McMullen said the shooting was not a random act, but part of an ongoing dispute. The victims were in their late teens and early 20s and were not related, he said. All four were shot in the upper body at least once.
State records show Crawford had been arrested 21 times in Florida, with felony charges including battery on a law enforcement officer and possession of cocaine. He has faced several other assault and drug charges.
Police questioned several witnesses and were searching for an armed suspect who remained at large, McMullen said.
"We have several residents who we're talking to," McMullen said. "People are cooperating. They're tired of this happening. This is a nice park, and it should have been a nice Easter."
It is such a sad testimony of today’s society in these United States that given any event of this type, pre-supposing the racial makeup of the group involved would result in a 96% accurate assessment.
Sounds like a drug gang shooting, with no concern whatever for children and others who might get hit by stray bullets.
“State records show Crawford had been arrested 21 times in Florida, with felony charges including battery on a law enforcement officer and possession of cocaine. He has faced several other assault and drug charges.”
Do I need to make a guess as to a physical description? I can here the comment leading to the shooting: “hey, my Easter egg have no blow in dem”
nothing says Easter like tank-topped mommas jiggling at the park while Damien’s son and Marcus ‘ daughter hunt for colored - I mean colorful eggs
I don’t understand...isn’t there a 3-strike rule for felonies? No way this guy should have been walking around.
Po' innocent chile...
and another two aspiring wrappers bite the dust.
He was a good boy!
I assume Mr. Crawford has already been released on his own recognizance since his record is so clean.
Those arrests and felony charges were due to a racist penal system that just wants to lock up black men.
//sarc
When are black folks going to stop killing people?
Not a place I’d choose to spend Easter.
It’s Whities fault! That is what one beastie said today on the news.
Here’s the solution!
Dance for disarmament!
#Fight4The33 Music Video with Jon Batiste
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=atyBTAcjTnI
Area surrounded by Obama people...surprised?
Amazing, the only white person in the picture is the police officer...
Amazing, the only white person in the picture is the police officer...
Not a place to spend anytime of any day there.
I knew it was the fault of whites. I guess we didn’t pass Obamadrug (the affordable cocaine, heroin and marijuana dealer and user Act) for them.
Arrested only 21 times? His career was just beginning.
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