TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A Tampa father said his 14-year-old son was one of the victims killed in the Ybor City shooting Sunday morning.
Tampa police said two people were killed, and 18 others hospitalized after a fight between two groups escalated to gunfire. As of this report, the victims’ identities and ages have not been released by officials.
When the 8 On Your Side crew arrived, Emmitt Wilson fell to his knees at the sight of his teenage son’s body.
“Elijah Jaquan Wilson,” he said, naming his son. “He was 14 years old, at the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“It’s not the first time I lost a child,” he added. “2014, I lost my child. Now here it is, 2023, and my baby boy, he’s gone now from gun violence.”
Elijah’s aunt, Wondra Grooms, stood at the scene in tears, saying she couldn’t believe the news.
“It’s like a nightmare,” she described. “It’s like a dream.”
“It’s like a dream,” she repeated. “I just never imagined him of all people.”
As caution tape and evidence markers lined 7th Avenue, this family sent a clear message.
“Please, stop the gun violence,” Wilson pleaded. “The only way the gun violence is going to be stopped is if the gangs be stopped.”
“The gun violence, it has to stop,” Grooms agreed. “It has to stop.”
