As previously reported in the Inquisitr, just before 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 28, multiple calls began flooding into Florida’s 911 service, reporting a shooting at a spring break party in the spring break capital of Panama City Beach. Today, more solid details of the incident have begun to emerge.
As per a Florida Today report, deputies from the Bay County Sheriff’s Office arrived to find a party-turned-crime-scene that spread from the interior of the house out into the yard and across the street to the median, totaling seven gunshot victims. No update has been issued on the condition of the victims. As of Saturday, three were stable, three were in critical condition, and one’s condition was unknown, and there could still be fatalities. Three victims were students at Alabama A&M University, where a candlelight vigil is planned to be held Monday evening.
The party-goers who were shot have since been identified, along with the nature of their injuries. None of the victims were over 22 years of age. In stable condition are Jacole Young, 22, shot three times in the back, Tykeria Ethridge, 22, shot in the neck and shoulder, and Kelli Curry, 21, shot in the leg. In critical condition are Devanta Moore, 21, shot in the chest, Henton Franklin, 22, shot in the side, and Kearria Freed, 20, shot in the head. One victim, Anesia Powell, 20, was shot in the left arm, chest, and knee, and was taken to surgery Saturday. Her condition is still unknown.
A Yahoo News report includes quotes from Bay County Sheriff Frank McKeithen, following on his comments in support of legislation last year which would have attempted to tone down spring break party mayhem, including a beach alcohol ban and a midnight last-call. City council members decided against the measures, instead imposing a 2 a.m. last call. The sheriff did not appear surprised to see a late-night party gone wrong, but said the shots had turned the party into “a chaotic scene.”
“This is what we’ve been trying to warn people about. It was only a matter of time and it’s only a matter of time until it happens again if we don’t address it.”
Arriving on the scene of the party, officers established a perimeter around the house and located a suspect matching the description provided by 911 callers. David Jamichael Daniels, 22, of Mobile, Alabama, was taken into custody and jailed. His bond has since been set at $575,000, according to Ruth Corley, a sheriff’s office spokesperson. He has been charged with seven counts of attempted murder.
Investigation of the scene turned up a.40-caliber handgun, believed to have been used by Daniels, in a neighbor’s yard, and the number of wounds inflicted (at least twelve wounds over the seven shot at the party) strongly suggests he was carrying multiple magazines. Daniels still does not have an attorney, but investigators have determined that he was free on bond on a drug possession charge during spring break, and was accompanied to the party by two others, one of whom was recovering from a gunshot wound suffered last week. Daniels’ two companions were questioned, but not charged.
For now, however, in the rest of Panama City Beach the party continues undeterred.
[Image courtesy Bay County Sheriff’s Office via Facebook]