Stepdad Shot, Killed Loading Child In Car In Tamarac, Family Says
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TAMARAC (CBSMiami) --- Broward Sheriff's deputies are investigating a deadly shooting in Tamarac.
A family member tells CBS4'S Peter D'Oench that the victim who he identified as Tavaris Phillips, 28, was shot in the back while putting his stepson in a car to take him to a hospital and that family member said the shooter was the child's biological father.
"This is senseless," he said. "From what I understand they were all together yesterday at a picnic and there were no signs of any trouble. We understand Tavaris was loading the kid in the car to go to the hospital for surgery this morning and someone came up behind him and shot him in the back. We understand that was the child's father.
From what I understand the kid witnessed it. He witnessed it all."
"I am upset because Tavaris had come a long way," he said. "He had come a long way and was being a good stepfather and recently got married. This doesn't make sense."
He said Phillips lived in the home with his wife and stepson.
"I call it cowardly," he said. "I mean it was two grown men and should be able to deal with it differently than this way. Gun violence is out of control in Broward County and in the state of Florida period. Last week we had a dive by in Pompano Beach. Then we had a man killed in a parking lot in Tampa. All because of gun violence."
Albert Phillips, the child's uncle, said, "I do know my nephew was going to the hospital with his step child and he was shot in the back. It is unfortunate that life has to end that way. I can't give you any word for what the family is going through right now. This is definitely an unfortunate situation. We all have bright futures because we are still living and we have the opportunity to do what is there right thing to do."
Chopper 4 flew over the scene at 6885 NW 69th Court shortly before 7 a.m. where a body could be seen in the street covered with a tarp.
The body was in the street, right next to a vehicle not far from West McNab Road.
Deputies say they responded to a call of shots fired around 5:40 a.m. and when they arrived, they found a man dead on the scene.
Police said the male suspect was later located in the 800 block of Southwest 8th Avenue in Pompano Beach and was taken into custody without incident. He has not been identified and BSO has not said what prompted this shooting.
The neighborhood was sealed off for nearly 6 hours on Monday morning as investigators for BSO combed the scene.
Neighbor Egbert White said, "This is crazy. We haven't had problems like this in the neighborhood. It is surprising."
BSO says the child's father, 30-year-old Ryan Inman was arrested without incident shortly after the shooting in the area of Southwest 8th Avenue and Southwest 8th Street in Pompano Beach. BSO says there were "previous incidents" with the mother.