TAMPA, Fla. — A community was on edge Sunday night following a deadly shooting in the SoHo entertainment district in Tampa.
The shooting happened early Sunday morning in a plaza in the SoHo district near several bars and late-night spots where people stopped to grab food. Two men were killed and another injured.
An employee at one of the businesses on Howard Avenue said they heard eight shots fired.
“I'm taking orders, getting their orders out the way and next thing you know the door opens and I hear gunshots,” the worker said.
Bullets shattered a window and grazed a tree. People scrambled inside the businesses to avoid getting shot.
“They were all running in, looking for cover and stuff like that. People were scared," they said.
Around the time of the shooting, many businesses were wrapping up for the night.
"These senseless acts of violence that occurred this morning happened in an area that was busy," said State Attorney Suzy Lopez at a press conference Sunday morning.
Danielle Malinsky said this is a popular area for college students and recent grads. She was planning to go out Saturday night but chose not to.
"We don't want things like that happening to places where we go to every night, especially because we're all college kids," Malinsky said. "That's definitely not something we want around here, and I don't really know why that would happen because this is not an area where things like this would happen."
Malinsky said she felt comfortable coming here today, but she'll think twice when making plans when the sun goes down.
“It's definitely making more people aware of what can go on here because we haven't had something that bad happen yet,” Malinsky said.
Tampa Police are still looking for the suspect involved in the shooting. They said they work closely with the residents and businesses in the area and encourage anyone, if they see something or someone suspicious, to inform the nearest officer immediately.
Tampa police also told 10 Tampa Bay they had increased patrols in the area before these recent incidents and said they plan to add more patrols and visibility to enhance the sense of safety in the community.
Anyone with information is encouraged to call the Tampa Police Department at 812-231-6130 or submit an anonymous tip via Crime Stoppers of Tampa Bay at 800-873-8477 or by texting SAFETAMPA to Tip411 (847411).