Families plead for tips on 1-year anniversary of deadly shooting on I-75

SARASOTA, Fla. - The families of two best friends are pleading with the public to find their killer, one year after someone opened fire on Interstate 75 in Sarasota County. 

On July 16, 2020, 26-year-old Reggie Wilson Jr. and 25-year-old Zack Yancy were driving on I-75 when shots were fired from another vehicle, killing them both. No arrests were ever made.

For Melissa Thomas, the last year has been filled with sleepless nights, knowing her son’s killer is still at large. The families of Reggie Wilson, Jr. and Zack Yancy are now asking anyone who knows anything to come forward. 

Reggie and Zack had been friends since they were toddlers. That night, they were on their way home from the Hard Rock Casino when someone in a white Jeep opened fire, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

"He was the best uncle to the girls. He was very loving and very caring. Always calling to check in. He acted more like he was the big brother and I was the younger sister so he was just a great person," Yancy's sister, Lakisha Cannon, said.

Friday, both families released doves at the gravesites of best friends whose lives were cut short. 

"He didn’t just tell me that he loved me, he showed me absolutely every single day that he loved me," Wilson's mother, Melissa Thomas said. "My release wasn’t to release my son because I don’t know how to release him because I love him so much. My dove was to symbolize that I love him and that everybody is out here tonight because they love him."

Thomas says she’s most proud of her son for the type of father he was to his three young kids, including 11-month-old Raielle.

"She will never get to meet my son to know what an amazing dad she had," Thomas said.

It’s why she and Yancy’s family are desperate for information from the public to find the shooter. They’re asking anyone who knows anything to come forward and call Crime Stoppers of Tampa Bay at 1-800-873-8477.

"Our hearts are broken. We would really like closure and to the person who did this just know that you’ve broken families forever. We can’t recover from this," Cannon said.