Tampa City Council member to propose temporary curfew for Ybor City businesses in wake of mass shooting
YBOR CITY, Fla. - A Tampa City Council member announced she intends to call for businesses in the Ybor Historic District to temporarily close early each night following a tragic mass shooting that left two dead and many injured.
City Council member Gwendolyn Henderson announced Wednesday morning she will make a motion at Thursday's meeting to call businesses in Ybor City to close at 1 a.m. for 6 months.
READ: TPD: Suspect arrested after 2 killed, 16 others injured during Ybor City shooting
Over the weekend, two people were killed and 16 injured in a shooting after an isolated altercation escalated in the Tampa neighborhood of Ybor City. Tyrell Phillips, 22, was arrested in connection to the incident, but police are searching for two additional suspects who are still at large.
READ: Ybor City shooting: Tampa police searching for more suspects after 2 killed, 16 injured
While Ybor City businesses would be under curfew, the city would study violence in that area and identify possible solutions. Henderson, whose district includes Ybor City, will also call for City Council to keep E. 7th Avenue, where the shooting took place, pen to traffic even during closing time on Fridays and Saturdays to limit loitering.
Crime scene tape in Ybor City after fatal shooting.
She said she will also propose for City Council to identify sources of revenue to expand community policing and increase code enforcement in the area.
READ: Ybor City shooting: 20-year-old shot in the leg hopes for justice as she recovers in the hospital
"Senseless acts of gun violence are always difficult. When it’s nearby the reality is horrific, so I have spent the past several days talking with Ybor residents, Ybor business owners, law enforcement, and Mayor Castor about what steps we can take to eliminate an environment that promotes violence during the late hours in Ybor City," said Henderson, whose district includes Ybor City. "It is true that there is no one-size-fits-all or flawless solution, but I am confident that we will make a difference."
Henderson will ask Hillsborough County Public Schools Interim Superintendent Van Ayres to consider sending a recorded message to advise the parents of high school students that Ybor nightlife is not a place for teenagers.
One of the victims killed in Sunday's shooting was 14 years old.