Police Investigate Mass Shooting After Six Wounded in Tampa, Florida

Police in Tampa were investigating a shooting at an apartment block early on Thursday that left six people wounded.

Why It Matters

The shooting came hours after the issue of gun violence was once again thrust into the spotlight with the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk at a university gathering in Utah.

The incident also took place just hours after a Florida appeals court struck down a state law banning the open carrying of firearms, ruling it incompatible with the Second Amendment right to bear arms.

What To Know

Tampa police said officers responded to a 911 call about a shooting shortly after 1:00 a.m.

“When officers arrived, they found three people who had been shot. Two were transported to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. One victim was transported in critical condition,” police said in a release posted on the city’s Tampa.gov website.

About 30 minutes later, officers were sent to a nearby location where they found two other people who had been shot and wounded at the same apartment complex and were making their way to hospital.

“They were transported to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries,” police said, adding: “A sixth victim later arrived at a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.”

A preliminary investigation found that all six victims were outside when they were shot.

“Detectives are currently working to identify a suspect and determine what led to the shooting,” police said.

In the decision on Wednesday, a state appeals court ruled that Florida’s ban on openly carrying guns is unconstitutional, the Associated Press reported.

The court, pointing to U.S. Supreme Court rulings on Second Amendment issues, said the open-carry ban is incompatible with the nation’s “historical tradition of firearm regulation.”

Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis welcomed the decision in a post on X.
He has called for lawmakers to pass an open carry bill.

Legalizing open carry has long been a major focus of Florida’s gun rights activists who oppose a slate of restrictions that Florida’s Republican-dominated Legislature implemented after the 2018 mass shooting at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, when 17 people were killed.

Florida Republican lawmakers have been pushing for the repeal of a gun safety law passed after the Parkland massacre in 2018.

What People are Saying

Florida Governor DeSantis referring to Wednesday’s appeals court ruling, said in a post on X: “This decision aligns state policy with my long-held position and with the vast majority of states throughout the union. Ultimately, the court correctly ruled that the text of the Second Amendment — ‘to keep and bear arms’ — says what it means and means what it says.”

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said in a post on X:“This is a big win for the Second Amendment rights of Floridians,” Uthmeier said, adding that “our God-given right to self-defense is indispensable.”