PANAMA CITY BEACH — Several eyewitnesses saw the suspect of a Spring Break shooting using synthetic marijuana before allegedly spraying gunfire upon a crowded house party, authorities reported Monday.
David Jamichael Daniels, 22, of Mobile, Ala., has been charged with seven counts of attempted murder in connection with the shooting at 5312 Thomas Drive Saturday morning. Seven people were injured and three remain in critical condition following the Spring Break house party, according to the Bay County Sheriff’s Office. And neighbors said it was not the first time BCSO responded to calls of unruly activity in the past week at the home.
This time, however, deputies arrived to find gunshot victims scattered inside, outside and across the street from the home. One victim lay in the median of the road.
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Officers would apprehend Daniels shortly after, allegedly with synthetic marijuana in his possession, according to BCSO.
“We do have indication he had used synthetic drugs,” said BCSO Major Tommy Ford. “That doesn’t give him an excuse for what he did.”
Phone lines of 911 operators lit up just before 1 a.m. Saturday morning to frantic reports of a shooting on Thomas Drive.
“I need an ambulance,” one woman cried out to 911 operators. “Please, they shot my friend.”
A Spring Break house party had devolved into gunfire apparently for no clear reason. When deputies arrived, a man who was shot in the side and laying in the driveway, a woman who was shot in the neck and a crowd of bystanders said they did not know who the shooter was.
The house party was packed to the point people were standing outside, waiting in line to get in. Witnesses told investigators Daniels was inside the home smoking synthetic marijuana. Without warning, he pulled out a firearm.
One witness said Daniels appeared to be in a daze as he began firing at random people. He would stop momentarily and then continue firing.
One of the shooting victims, 22-year-old Tykeria Etheridge, wrote on Facebook that she was “just an innocent person like everybody else.”
“I was shot several times including in the neck. I just knew I was dead,” Etheridge wrote. “All I could think about was my son. He all I got man, and I don’t want him to grow up with both parents gone.”
One man was driving past the home when a flood of people poured into the street on foot and in vehicles.
“I heard gunshots and I saw everybody on the ground, people were screaming and people were running,” he told 911 operators.
Beverly Chandler, a neighboring home owner, called 911 after hearing several gunshots come from the house party. She watched from her balcony moments later as officers found Daniels running adjacent to her fence line. Chandler said it wasn’t the first time neighbors had called authorities to the house throughout the week for various disturbances, including fights involving dozens of kids.
Chandler said it seemed like a matter of time before the situation finally erupted.
“The mayhem that was going on over there,” she said. “To us, it was inevitable.”
Daniels, a Mobile resident, came to town with two friends while out on bond for his sixth arrest since 2012, BCSO revealed at a press conference Saturday afternoon. Daniels’ adult rap sheet includes arrests on gambling, drug use and possession, loitering, disorderly conduct and a probation violation.
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He is being held on a $525,000 bond.
At least three victims were critically injured yet stable as of Monday: Kearria Freed, 20, who was shot in the head; Devanta Moore, 21, who was shot in the chest was stable yet critical; and Henton Franklin, 22, who was shot in the side. Three others were discharged from medical care: Jacole Young, 22, who police said was shot in the back three times; Kelli Curry, 21, who was shot in the leg; and Etheridge, who was shot in the neck and shoulder.
A seventh victim — Anesia Powell, 20 — was shot in the left arm, chest, and knee, and was in stable condition.