It’s hard to let anything get in the way of the beautiful, white sand beaches of Clearwater.
But for some visitors, concerns are clouding their vacation.
“That was definitely a conversation we had coming up here,” said Jimmy Wilkins, of Kansas.
“We had talked about that because I seen the story prior to coming here and that kind of worries you being an African American male it could happen to you.”
Still, Wilkins and wife Nikki didn’t let the shooting outside a Pinellas County convenience store alter their plans.
Orlando Shorter of Chicago agreed.
“For one incident that I saw on TV, you can’t judge Florida for that,” Shorter said.
On a Clearwater Facebook page, a person asked city officials if they plan to warn people about “imminent danger” in the city if they plan to vacation here, even though the shooting happened in an unincorporated section of the county and not in city limits.
“We’re getting a handful of questions. Is Clearwater safe? Is it safe to visit? When is Florida going to do something with Stand Your Ground?” said Clearwater city spokeswoman Joelle Castelli.
City officials are monitoring social media and keeping an eye on any potential effect to businesses.
“We’ve had a couple of people say they’re not coming to Florida until your Stand Your Ground issues are resolved in your state,” Castelli said.
