TAMPA, Fla. — People living in an area of Tampa's Hyde Park neighbor say they are terrified after someone fired several shots at a group of people in a parking lot near popular bars and restaurants around 3:00 a.m. Saturday morning.
"There are townhomes right next to where the shooting occurred bullets can easily travel through a window or a door," said neighbor Jerod Hassell.
A daycare is located just feet from where the shooting happened. Employees at the daycare say the towing rules will now be enforced after hours.
The neighbors say it is not unusual to see crowds of people in business parking lots all hours of the night and the various items they leave behind.
"Broken booze bottles, fireworks, you name it and we have found it out there,” said one neighbor, who wanted to remain anonymous, especially after hearing the gunfire. "We saw a man shooting another man and then shooting wildly into the air at town houses, a school, and another parking lot at random individuals."
One homeowner, who also wanted to remain anonymous, captured the shooting on home security footage.
The neighbor who spoke with ABC Action News says people have been hanging out in these lots for about a year and a half.
"We've all gone out and had fun but to start turning to violence and keeping the neighbors up until 3 o'clock in the morning, that is unacceptable,” he said.
He hopes this video sheds light on a problem he says is getting out of control.
"I hope that the people that have these parking lots will second guess as to how they are being used,” he said. "It was not really that much of a problem and it's grown into a very big problem. I think our boiling point is somebody getting shot.”
Tampa Police said a verbal altercation escalated to gunfire. Police say the suspect fired shots hitting a 24-year-old man. Police say the suspect believed the victim threw an old cell phone case hitting the suspect's vehicle.
Police are searching for a suspect. Officers say they have a vague description of the suspect.
