Deadly SoHo shooting has residents, business owners concerned
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw met with business owners and concerned residents to talk about a fatal shooting that happened late Saturday night in the South Howard Avenue area of Tampa.
Two people were killed in the shooting and another was injured.
Late Monday, police released video that shows the moments shots were fired.
Police have now identified the two people who were killed in the shooting as Kenneth Washington, 28, and Kevon Christmas, 23. Both men have criminal records and do not live in the area where the shooting happened.
WATCH: Police release video showing moment SoHo shooting left 2 dead
Police said a third shooting victim is still in the hospital, recovering from his injuries.
Annelise Meier lives in the neighborhood behind the shopping plaza where the shooting happened and told WFLA people are concerned.
“People are waking up now and taking notice of this,” said Meier.
She said officers were nearby when the shooting happened and still couldn’t stop it.
“We can’t blame the cops. We do need more cops, but the cops were right there and when something like this breaks out, there is no way you can stop it,” said Meier.
She said business owners need to step to stop the violence.
Tampa police ask for videos after deadly SoHo shooting
“I think that they might not have security after a certain hour. The security leaves, so you have these young people that are still out and about and they congregate in a certain place, we’ve all got our phones,” said Meier.
Steve Michelini is the general manager of the SOHO Business Alliance and said businesses are already doing a great deal.
“Well, they’ve been concerned about safety and protection for a long time and that’s why they have the off-duty officers that are here. That’s why we’ve worked with the police department,” said Michelini.
Bercaw said officers are still trying to identify who fired shots and he’s asking for the public’s help to do that.
“We still believe that there’s people in that small group that may have seen something, or may have video that could lead us to that probable cause to make an arrest,” said Bercaw.
“Recent gun violence has understandably shaken our community. Although we remain one of the safest cities our size in the country, we are not immune to the growing number of disagreements that are being handled with a firearm,” Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said in a statement posted on X. “The @TampaPD team will continue to work alongside residents to reduce violent crime and, while these crimes have not been random, we must all do what we can to keep Tampa safe.”
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