Emergency

Mass Shooter Fires Into Crowd At Fathers Day Celebration Event In Florida Killing 1 And Leaving 9 Injured

This is the moment cops drag a suspected mass shooter from under a car where he had taken cover after he allegedly opening fire at a father’s day celebration event killing one and injuring nine other people.

The suspected mass shooter, Rapheal Thomas, 22, was arrested by cops in the Royal Park area in the city of Wildwood in the state of Florida at around 8.00 pm on Sunday (20th June).

The dramatic bodycam footage shows the cops moving towards the suspect with their guns drawn.

Rapheal Thomas (22) suspected of the mass shooting on Fathers Day with one dead and nine more injured in Wildwood in Florida on the 20th of June 2021. (sumtercountysheriff/Newsflash)

The crowds from the event have mostly cleared by the time the police arrive but a handful of people can still be seen running for their lives as the cops rush through the car park.

The cops find Thomas hiding under a car, they grab his arms, drag him out and put him in cuffs.

Sumter County Sheriff’s Office told WFTV 9 that 10 people were taken to hospital following the shooting.

Officers responded to a report of a mass shooting on Fathers Day in Wildwood in Florida on the 20th of June 2021. (Sumter Sheriff/Newsflash)

Cornecia Smikle, 25, was shot fatally in the upper torso and died after being transferred to a local hospital.

One of the victims is in intensive care whilst the others are reportedly in a stable condition.

The victims have not been identified but the Sheriff’s office confirmed that no children were injured during the shooting.

Officers responded to a report of a mass shooting on Fathers Day in Wildwood in Florida on the 20th of June 2021. (Sumter Sheriff/Newsflash)

The motives behind the shooting are not clear although the Sheriff’s office reports that Thomas confronted an unidentified person at the father’s day event and then opened fire.

The police didn’t confirm how or why the suspect went from shooting at one person to firing at an entire crowd.

WFTV reports that Thomas has been charged with second-degree murder, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and possession of a weapon by a convicted felon.

Officers responded to a report of a mass shooting on Fathers Day in Wildwood in Florida on the 20th of June 2021. (Sumter Sheriff/Newsflash)

The suspect has several prior convictions including a conviction for armed robbery in 2017.

According to Gun Violence Archive, a non-profit research group, this was just one of the 11 mass shootings that occurred in the US over the weekend.

The group classifies a mass shooting as an incident where four or more people are shot not including the suspected shooter.

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