Public Safety
Police Name Victim as Philip “PJ” Sheppard, Say Downtown Shooting Tied to Ongoing Feud
Chief Eric Winstrom says at least two weapons were fired, six of the seven victims knew each other, and detectives are looking at possible gang connections. No suspects have been charged.
Pensacola Police Chief Eric Winstrom on Monday named the victim of Sunday’s downtown shooting as 19-year-old Philip Sheppard, known to friends and family as “PJ,” and said detectives now believe the attack grew out of an ongoing feud among a group of people who knew each other, some with possible gang connections.
- The victims are recovering. Of the six people wounded and taken to the hospital, all but one have already been released. The last remaining patient is expected to make a full recovery and is no longer in danger of dying, Winstrom said.
Key Developments
- At least two weapons were fired that night, according to evidence reviewed with help from the ATF
- Six of the seven people struck by gunfire, including Sheppard, knew each other and were connected to a long-running feud
- The seventh victim was not known to the others and, based on where he was standing, was likely not an intended target
- Detectives are looking into known gang connections among several of those involved, though Winstrom stopped short of calling them gang members
- A crossfire scenario is a real possibility, with bullets potentially traveling in opposite directions
- No suspects have been charged; the minimum number of shooters is two, but that number “could be more”
“This is a year’s long feud, and regardless of what the content of this feud is… I don’t think it’s going to be anything that you or I or a member of the public would think would justify the death of a 19-year-old man who had his whole life ahead of him,” Winstrom said.
Before the Shooting
Winstrom said the shooting followed an already chaotic night for officers. Nine arrests were made in the hours before the shooting; their ages ranged from 14 to 22. Officers responded to more than 20 fights downtown that night, most of which the chief described as “kid stuff” involving young people who knew each other from school, sparked by tensions that flared after the fireworks show.
- Not every incident was minor. Winstrom said officers dealt with young people throwing mortar-style fireworks, including one juvenile carrying a handgun in his waistband. He credited the heavy police presence, roughly three times the normal holiday deployment, with keeping those fights from escalating into serious injuries.
The chief also moved to knock down a viral video making the rounds on social media that claimed to show a related altercation and gunfire downtown. He confirmed that footage was not from the City of Pensacola.
Curfew Conversation Continues, But No Movement Yet
Mayor D.C. Reeves said conversations about a youth curfew have come up with community leaders, and he reiterated he would support one, something he said predates this weekend’s shooting. But he cautioned it is still early.
“An ordinance goes to council members, and I certainly would support a curfew. I would have last week, last month, last year. That hasn’t changed my opinion,” Reeves said, adding that any proposal would need to go through the city attorney’s office and be enforceable before it’s presented to the public.
Reeves noted Florida has a state statute that could serve as a template and that some counties have added their own variations, including seasonal enforcement tied to events like spring break. He said that level of detail hasn’t been worked out.
- Winstrom offered his own take on the intent behind a curfew: not to punish young people for being out, but to give officers a way to get children as young as 10 or 11 home safely. “The idea of a curfew isn’t necessarily that you want to take this person off the street to punish them for being off the street,” he said.
Investigation Resources
Winstrom said PPD has leaned on help from several outside partners, including the ATF, Escambia Sheriff’s Office Task Force and offers of assistance from Sheriff Chip Simmons and Milton Police Chief. He said the department is also in talks with federal partners to speed up forensic evidence processing given the size of the crime scene, which stretched several blocks.
- Detectives are continuing to interview the surviving victims, some of whom were unable to speak with investigators the night of the shooting due to their injuries, to determine whether any of them had direct involvement.
A Difficult Conversation
Winstrom said he and Captain Reese, who oversees the department’s detectives, personally spoke with Sheppard’s mother and gave her their cell phone numbers.
“There’s nothing positive. There’s no way to fix that, no way to make it better. So our job as an organization is to do everything we can to support her and make sure that on the darkest day of her life… we don’t make it any worse,” Winstrom said.
What’s next: Winstrom said detectives are working around the clock but cautioned it will likely be another day or two before more specific answers, including possible charges, are available. He said the department intends to conduct a “professional, thorough and legal investigation” even as it works to keep the community informed. The investigation remains active.