PANAMA CITY BEACH — The Bay County Sheriff's Office released new details Saturday about an early morning shooting that left seven people critically injured.
David Jamichael Daniels, 22, of Mobile, Ala., has been charged with seven counts of attempted murder and is currently in the Bay County Jail awaiting first appearance on Saturday.
The shooting occurred at a Spring Break house party at 5312 Thomas Drive shortly before 1 a.m. on the east end of Thomas Drive. Authorities arrived to the scene to find seven shooting victims.
"Three victims were found in the home, one in front of the house, one in the median of Thomas Drive, and two across the street from the home," officials said in a news release.
Sheriff Frank McKeithen said because of the number of extra deputies on duty due to Spring Break, authorities were able to arrive quickly and take the suspected shooter into custody. Portions of Thomas Drive remained closed until nearly daybreak Saturday.
"It happened," McKeithen said. "This is what we've been trying to warn people about. It's been a rough time and there are two completely different elements of Spring Break. There are the college kids who are here for their Spring Break, and there is the group of people drawn here because of them."
A 40-caliber handgun matching the description of the one used in the shooting was recovered in the backyard of a residence on Beach Drive, but McKeithen said the exact circumstances surrounding the shootings were still under investigation Saturday.
"It was a house party and there were a large number of people there," he said.
For McKeithen and some others watching Spring Break, there had been a fear that it was only a matter of time until violence erupted due to the proliferation of people coming into town with guns.
"It has been very frustrating because you listen to people stand up and say that Spring Break isn't really that bad and we've been trying to tell them it is," McKeithen said. "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."
McKeithen said the Sheriff's Office would hold a press conference at 4 p.m. and he thanked the other agencies in the area that assisted.
"It really broke out into chaos when that happened," Mckeithen said. "There were a lot of people there to help."
Several of the victims are students at Alabama A&M University visiting Panama City Beach for Spring Break.
The victims are: Kearria Freed, 20, of Mobile was shot in the head and remains in critical condition; Anesia Powell, age 20, was shot in the left arm, chest, and knee; Devanta Moore, 21, was shot in the chest; Jacole Young, age 22, was shot in the back three times; Kelli Curry, age 21, was shot in the leg; Tykeria Ethridge, 22, of Mobile was shot in the neck and shoulder; Henton Franklin age 22, of Mobile was shot in the side.
Authories wrote that Powell is in surgery at a local hospital. Freed, Moore and Franklin remain hospitalized in critical condition. Young, Curry and Etheridge remain hospitalized in stable condition.
Neighbors were relucant to talk about the incident.
"Some guys got into the house party and started shooting. They were running in alleyways," said one neighbor, who did not want to be identified.
The neighbor said the suspect was caught by police after running down the street.
Gary Frees, a neighbor who lives across the street from the shooting, said he didn't know a shooting occurred but that he saw police cars and tow trucks at the house while walking down the street.
The shooting was the sixth firearm related call of the evening, police said. In one incident a firearm was discharged inside a condominium, officials added. Four firearms were seized in drug-related cases.
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