Page 3 - Florida Sentinel 2-14-17

Features
Weekend Shooting Leaves One Teenager Dead, Two Others Injured
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
The Tampa Police Depart- ment is currently investigating a shooting that left three pa- rade goers injured by gunfire. A 17-year-old died and two other teenagers were shot. The shooting took place Saturday night near the intersection of 7th Avenue and Nuccio Park- way.
According to police, at ap- proximately 10:30 p.m., two groups became engaged in an altercation. The altercation turned into a confrontation and more than one person began shooting.
Tee’on Milledge was fatally wounded and died as a result of his injuries. Two other teenagers, ages 16 and 17, were injured, but their wounds are not considered life threaten- ing.
Mother Describes Son Ms. Tameka Milledge, the mother of Tee’on Milledge described her son as “a good and loving child who had lots
of friends.”
She further said that Tee’on
had planned to graduate from
Blake High School, where he was a 10th grader, and join the military.
He enjoyed working at Burger King in Brandon and enjoyed hanging out with his friends, Ms. Milledge said.
Tee’on was the son of Ms. Milledge and John Burr, Jr., and is survived by several siblings and other family members.
She last saw him earlier on Saturday and knew that he planned to attend the night pa- rade with friends.
Shortly after the shooting, she was contacted and told that her son had been shot. He died in the ambulance en route to the hospital, she said.
Ms. Milledge said she was told that her son was not the target, but stepped in front of the person who was the in- tended victim.
The family is also in need of assistance for funeral ex- penses. Anyone wishing to make a donation can reach the family at (813) 621-7223.
Funeral services for Tee’on Milledge were incomplete at press time. However, the fam- ily has selected Jackson’s Fu- neral Home to handle
TEE’ON MILLEDGE 10/17/1999 to 2/11/2017
arrangements.
Individual Shares Account of Shooting
An individual who did not witness the shooting, but heard the shots gave the fol- lowing account.
“I noticed a lot of commotion form the parade and there were a lot of people. Then I no- ticed the crowd changed. There was a big police pres- ence, but you could tell the troublemakers when they came. The crowd was at 7th Avenue and Nuccio.
“I went back inside and
then I heard pop, pop, pop continuously and rapidly. At first, I thought it was firecrack- ers. Then I heard more shoot- ing and people started screaming. You could tell they were running. I could hear kids crying.
“A young girl, probably about 17 or 18, started banging on my door. She had a little child with her about 8. The shooting was still going on and I let them in. They immedi- ately crawled to the kitchen and got up against the wall, like they knew what to do, like they were used to it.
“Then, it seemed like the gun fire went around the corner and there was a pause, as if they were reloading. Then it started again, and there were at least 2 guns firing.”
The individual said in the be- ginning, he estimated 30 to 40 rounds being shot. After they went around the corner, he be- lieves another 70 to 100 rounds were fired.
Reward Offered
Ms. Janelle McGregor, spokesperson for the Tampa Police Department said, “We know there are people who know what happened and we
are pleading with them to come forward with any infor- mation they have that could potentially help us take these suspects and illegal guns off the streets.
“Reward money is available through Crime Stoppers for anonymous tips...up to $3,000 from Crime Stoppers. Crime Stoppers also have the Gun Bounty Program, that will pay an individual $1,000 for infor- mation leading to the arrest of someone carrying an illegal gun,” she further said.
After the shooting, those in- volved scattered and detectives believe there were several wit- nesses to the shooting. They are asking anyone with infor- mation pertaining to the shooting to contact the Tampa Police Department at (813) 231-6130.
Crime Stoppers of Tampa Bay is offering a reward of up to $3,000 for information leading to the identification and arrest of the person re- sponsible for the murder.
Anyone wanting to be eligi- ble for the reward must con- tact Crime Stoppers of Tampa Bay at 1-873-TIPS (8477), or at www.crimestopperstb.com.
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2017 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 3