19-year-old killed and 6 others injured in July 4 shooting during Florida ‘teen takeover’

By Lauren Mascarenhas, CNN

(CNN) — A 19-year-old man was killed and six others were injured in an overnight shooting after hundreds of teens filled downtown Pensacola, Florida, for the Fourth of July, police said.

Phillip Devon Monte Sheppard Jr. was killed in the shooting, Pensacola Police Chief Eric Winstrom said at a Monday news conference. No suspects had been identified as of Monday morning.

The shooting took place during what police described as a “teen takeover” that began with children as young as middle schoolers holding fireworks on the Fourth and escalated into an increasingly dangerous situation when older teens and young adults filled the streets Saturday night and into Sunday morning.

Officers responded when shots were fired shortly after 1 a.m. and began providing medical care to the injured victims on the ground, Winstrom said at a news conference Sunday.

Despite efforts to save Sheppard with CPR, he was pronounced dead at the scene, according to police.

All but one of the six others wounded in the shooting, ranging in age from 16 to 26, have been released from the hospital, Winstrom said Monday. The person still being treated is expected to recover fully, he added.

Authorities have determined at least two weapons were fired during the shooting and believe the motive was related to an ongoing feud.

Six of the victims were known to each other, while one appeared to have been caught in the gunfire, Winstrom said.

Police believe some of the individuals involved have “known gang connections,” but Winstrom stopped short of calling them gang members.

“Regardless of what the content of this feud is, which the detectives are looking into it, I don’t think it’s going to be anything that you, or I or a member of the public would think would justify the death of a 19-year-old man who had his whole life ahead of him,” he said.

Winstrom said he met with Sheppard’s grieving mother Sunday, adding: “She deserves justice, and she deserves answers, and we’re going to do everything we can to get those for her.”

The Pensacola Police Department had nearly tripled its staffing in the area in anticipation of crowded holiday celebrations, the police chief said Sunday.

“We had about 50 extra police officers down there, and even with that police presence, someone was still emboldened enough to commit this heinous act of violence this morning,” Winstrom said.

Young adults, teens and children were engaging in what the chief described as “frightening behavior” throughout the night.

Police encountered teens fighting, launching fireworks at other people and carrying handguns. The department arrested nine teens and adults, ages 14 to 22, in the hours prior to the shooting, Winstrom said Monday.

Authorities widely refer to mass gatherings of unaccompanied young people — that sometimes escalate into chaos or violence — as teen takeovers. Winstrom said his department has dealt with them in other areas around Pensacola. Though the gatherings can seem harmless on their face, the police chief emphasized how they can become dangerous.

And it isn’t just Pensacola. Cities around the country, including Orlando, Washington, DC, and New York, have been grappling with how to respond to a recent trend in teen takeovers, which are often organized on social media or through mass messaging. Some areas have moved to establish curfews for younger residents.

“It is not like it was when we were growing up,” Pensacola Mayor D.C. Reeves said at the Monday news conference. Reeves said he would be open to establishing a local curfew.

Winstrom urged families in his community to keep track of where their kids are and to work to keep them away from potentially dangerous situations.

“Be involved in your kids’ lives,” Winstrom said.

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CNN’s Eric Levenson contributed to this report.