Advertisement

Tampa Riverwalk shooting brings arrest; 2 groups were arguing, police said

The shooter, Kareem Malik Hernandez Jr., 20, faces charges of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and carrying a concealed firearm.
 
Tampa police received a number of tips after circulating video in a shooting along the Tampa Riverwalk.
Tampa police received a number of tips after circulating video in a shooting along the Tampa Riverwalk. [ Tampa Police Department ]
Published May 26, 2021|Updated May 26, 2021

TAMPA — Police have arrested a man in a shooting early Saturday that left the victim with a hand injury and people using the Tampa Riverwalk shocked at the blood left behind.

The shooting stemmed from an argument between two groups of people walking on the Riverwalk near Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park, police said. As the groups separated, the shooter turned and fired into the other group, police said in a news release Wednesday.

Kareem Malik Hernandez Jr., 20, of Thonotosassa, faces charges in a shooting on the Tampa Riverwalk. [ Tampa Police Department ]

The shooter was identified as Kareem Malik Hernandez Jr., 20, of Thonotosassa. He faces charges of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and carrying a concealed firearm. Detectives received a number of tips after circulating video recorded on nearby cameras around the time of the shooting.

Witnesses identified Hernandez as the shooter and he identified himself in the surveillance video, police said.

The victim was treated at a hospital, police said, but no other information about an identity was provided. Hernandez was released in lieu of $9,500 bond.

In an earlier news release, police said a number of shots were fired. Streaks and pools of blood stretched south along the Riverwalk, according to images posted at the neighborhood social media site Nextdoor before police released news of the shooting Sunday.