'Running and scared': Witnesses to mass shooting in Tallahassee share their experiences
Cristian Chaves was on his way out the door, setting the alarm after a long day's work at Los Compadres Mexican Restaurant, when he heard the gunshots.
He jumped behind the bar and heard people screaming outside.
"If I had left three minutes before, I would have been with the rest of the people in the parking lot who were running and scared," Chaves, 28, said.
Chaves, the manager of the restaurant, said he heard multiple rounds in rapid succession, then a pause. Then more gunfire. Then another pause.
It sounded like a shootout.
"It was an unpleasant experience for our community, for this to happen so close," he said.
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A mass shooting late Saturday night on West Pensacola Street claimed the life of one man and injured eight others. Three men have been charged in connection with the shooting, and the Tallahassee Police Department is still investigating.
De’Arius Cannon, 30, has been charged with second-degree murder. Cannon, who was also injured when he was shot by TPD officers, was seen "shooting into a large crowd."
William Thomas, 23, and Tamylon Williams, 26, have been charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, according to TPD.
Police said more than 40-50 gunshots were fired into a crowd outside Half Time Liquors and Los Compadres on West Pensacola Street, and an AK-variant rifle was found in a car driven by suspects Thomas and Williams, according to court records.
The Democrat spoke to people who were in the area at the time of the shooting who said the parking lots and street were more crowded than usual because of an event at BAJAS, a local nightclub, and the weekend's festivities, including FAMU homecoming, an FSU home football game and Halloween.
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The parking lot of Half Time Liquors was littered Sunday with trash, remnants of the party that people fled once the gunshots rang out late Saturday.
On Monday morning, the parking lot was clean and mostly empty with hardly any evidence of that a mass shooting took place over the weekend, but the facade of the liquor store was still marked with bullet holes.
Witness with a 7-month-old daughter: 'Stuff like that sit with people'
Eli Daniels, who was sweeping the sidewalk in front of the store, was there Saturday night when the shooting happened.
Daniels has a 7-month-old daughter and lives in the community.
The 22-year-old said he's OK, but "stuff like that sit with people."
The parking lot is for business, he said, not for partying, especially on Saturday night.
"I don't want to be around nothing like that," he said. "I ain't trying to be one of those people lying on the floor."
FSU grad student plans on moving
Rhianne Mccalip, an FSU graduate student who lives at the Pavilion Apartments on West Pensacola Street, said she heard shooting late Saturday night.
She's familiar with the sound of gunshots. Instead of being frightened, she was disheartened by the thought of violence happening so close to where she lives.
This will be the only year she lives at the apartment complex. It might already be time to move.
"I think I can afford a couple hundred more each month just for the peace of mind," she said.
Tallahassee police ask for help
TPD Chief Lawrence Revell said there are likely members of the public with knowledge about what happened or who else may have been involved in the shooting.
TPD opened a link where video and photos that may provide evidence in the case can be submitted.
Editor's note: Chaves was interviewed in Spanish and his responses were translated to English for this story.
Contact Ana Goñi-Lessan at AGoniLessan@tallahassee.com and follow her on Twitter @goni_lessan.
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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Tallahassee mass shooting update: Witnesses share what they saw, heard
