Young Man Killed, Six Injured in Shooting at Florida Youth Gathering

A Florida community is grieving after a young man was killed and six others were injured in a shooting at a massive youth gathering on Independence Day.

Hundreds of unaccompanied young people, including kids as young as middle schoolers, gathered in Pensacola, Florida, Saturday evening as Fourth of July celebrations were underway, local police said. But the night turned deadly when gunshots rang out around 1:20 a.m.

Nearby officers ran to the scene and provided first aid to the seven victims, Pensacola Police Chief Eric Winstrom told reporters Sunday. One person, a 19-year-old man whose name has not been released, was pronounced dead at the scene. Six others between the ages of 16 and 26 were injured and are expected to survive.

“I met the grieving mother of this 19-year-old young man yesterday, and she deserves justice, and she deserves answers, and we're going to do everything we can to get those for her,” Winstrom said.

Investigators believe the attack was “targeted” and “not a random act of violence,” according to Winstrom, who added that it’s “possible” there was more than one shooter. Police have yet to make any arrests in connection with the shooting, he said.

“There were very young, innocent kids out there, and as tragically as this was the loss of a young man's life, with seven people shot and with bullets flying, it could have been even that much worse,” the police chief said said.

Officers arrested several people at the gathering unrelated to the shooting, including one man who was “throwing fireworks while armed with a handgun,” Winstrom said. He recalled seeing kids as young as middle schoolers “engaging in some frightening behavior.”

This gathering was not an “organized teen takeover like we have seen in the past,” a Pensacola Police Department spokesperson told The Independent.

These so-called “teen takeovers” are large, unsanctioned gatherings typically promoted online through social media. They’re happening in major cities across U.S., including Chicago, Detroit and Washington, D.C., and the trend has sparked concern among police, lawmakers and parents alike.

Police departments “have to be prepared” for these events, because they’re likely here to stay, according to Michael Alcazar, an adjunct professor at the City University of New York's John Jay College of Criminal Justice.