The Tampa Police Department is imploring members of the community to come forward after a 7-year-old boy was fatally shot Tuesday when a shootout broke out over a jet ski dispute.
Officers responded to a shooting just after 8:30 p.m. at a boat ramp off the Courtney Campbell Causeway west of Ben T. Davis Beach, Calvin Johnson, deputy chief of investigations, said at a news conference Wednesday.
Witnesses told police that a dispute broke out because a group of people were upset that another group was riding their jet skis near the shore where the children were playing.
A group came out of the water, according to Johnson, and the argument escalated until someone opened fire.
“When the shooting started, the grandfather of the young man who was shot grabbed him and put him in the truck when he heard the shots,” Johnson said. “When they were inside the vehicle, a projectile entered the interior of the vehicle, hitting the grandfather on the finger and the young man on the head.”
The boy was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. He was identified as Yitzian Torres García by his grandparents in an interview with WFLA, an NBC affiliate.
Yitzian’s grandfather, Juan Carlos Mejia, told WFLA that he was trying to protect the boy and placed his hands on his grandson’s head inside the truck.
“When I felt the shot in my hand, I turned to look at my grandson and he turned his head,” Mejía said.
Yitzian was visiting his grandparents from New Jersey and planned to watch the Fourth of July fireworks at the beach. Her grandmother, Marisol Ayala, said that this type of violence “is not supposed to happen with babies.”
The family begs whoever shot Yitzian to turn himself in.
“He did not kill an animal, he killed a human being, a baby that is beginning to live that had nothing to do with his fights, with weapons or anything, we are suffering, we lost a life,” Ayala said.
Witnesses described the scene as two groups of Hispanic men shooting at each other, police said.
The suspects fled the beach and homicide detectives are working to determine their identities, Johnson said. But the department urges anyone with knowledge of the shooting to contact police directly or submit an anonymous tip to the Crimestoppers hotline at 800-873-8477.
Johnson told reporters Wednesday that he was “very angry” at the recklessness of those who know of the damage created by gun violence but shoot “indiscriminately.”
“We need to do better as a community. Really, as Americans,” Johnson said. “We see everyone across the country, including Tampa, the first thing that jumps out is guns. There’s a better way to deal with whatever you’re going through than to go to that gun.”
“Once someone is gone, they won’t come back,” he added.
