Second person dies following Memorial Day weekend shootings at Ginnie Springs


A second person has died following multiple shootings over the Memorial Day weekend at Ginnie Springs, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

The latest death is the result of a shooting near one of the park’s campgrounds at about 11:30 p.m. on May 25 in which three people were initially injured. Agent Will Porter, resident in charge of FDLE’s Gainesville field office, said during a Tuesday press conference at the Gilchrist County Sheriff’s Office that three innocent bystanders were shot during large altercations between two groups of people.

Porter said at the time that two of those injured were treated and released, while the third was in “very serious” condition.

FDLE released no additional details about the latest victim

Porter said Tuesday that suspects in the shooting have been identified.

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Gilchrist County Sheriff Bobby Schultz in Tuesday’s press conference compared the scene at Ginnie Springs to a “rave party.”

“We were dealing with upwards of attendees of 20,000 people,” Schultz said.

The weekend’s first shooting occurred on the east side of the park in the early morning hours of May 25, and resulted in the death of Cody Edward Stuart, of Jacksonville.

Fisher Dalton Watts, of St. Mary, Georgia, has been charged with first-degree premeditated murder in Stuart’s death and as of Thursday was still being held at the Camden County Jail in Georgia. Watts’ brother, Dallas Jordan Watts, is charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and resisting arrest without violence.

Gilchrist County Undersheriff Robert Willis said during the press conference that the agency responding to problems at Ginnie Springs is nothing new.

“For those of you who are familiar with this area, we’ve been dealing with an escalation of problems at that location for years. It has culminated with this weekend in two separate tragic events,” he said. “The density at that location and, as the sheriff talked about, the excess and open use of intoxicants there is surely a recipe for disaster.”

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: FDLE reports second person dies following shootings at Ginnie Springs

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