Teen shot in Tampa park expected to recover, police searching for suspect

A 16-year-old boy is expected to recover from injuries suffered when he was shot Sunday night in Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park in downtown Tampa, according to police.

The boy remains in a local hospital, where he is in “serious but stable condition,” the Tampa Police Department said in an updated news release Tuesday afternoon.

Tampa police are still working to find the suspected shooter, described as a Black male in his mid-to-late teens with a short Afro. He is believed to be between 5-foot-6 and 5-foot-9 and, at the time of the shooting, was wearing a blue T-shirt, jeans and black sneakers.

A news release from Tampa police on Sunday said a shot was fired from one group toward another after a conflict between the two escalated. The shot hit the 16-year-old boy, who was in the other group, officers said.

Tampa officers arrived at the scene just before 9 p.m. Sunday and said that people who were nearby at the time of the shooting were providing first aid to the boy. . Police previously had said that detectives did not think the shooting was random.

Investigators are speaking with witnesses and nearby businesses for information about the shooting, according to Tuesday’s update. Tampa police ask anyone with information to call 813-231-6130, text a tip to Tip411 (847411) or submit a tip via the TampaPD app.