Good job, Jane.
Tampa man, 24, shot to death near Club Ice in Ybor City
By Marissa Lang and Laura C. Morel, Times Staff Writers
Posted: Sep 14, 2012 05:52 AM
A 24-year-old man died early Friday after he was gunned down near Club Ice on N 17th Street in Ybor City, police say. |  |
[LAURA C. MOREL | Times] |
ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT   [LAURA C. MOREL | Times] Police officers found Ricky S. Ligon, 24, of Tampa lying face down on the pavement in the club’s parking lot, 1704 N 17th Street, just before 2:30 a.m. Friday. |
TAMPA — A 24-year-old man died early Friday after he was shot near Club Ice in Ybor City, police said.
Officers found Ricky S. Ligons, 24, of Tampa lying face down on the pavement in the club's parking lot, 1704 N 17th Street, just before 2:30 a.m.
Ligons was taken to Tampa General Hospital, where he died.
Police were responding to calls about a fight outside the club when they found Ligons.
According to witnesses, Ligons had been trying to break up the scuffle when he was shot.
Shameka Barber had just left Club Ice and was heading to the parking lot when she saw two women begin to fight, she said.
Ligons stepped in. Then the crackle of gunfire cut through the night.
Barber ran. When she looked back, Ligons was on the ground.
Barber said she found a mounted Tampa Police Officer and asked for help.
"It happened so fast , and it's a tragedy," she said. "He was just trying to break up a fight."
Club Ice managers issued a statement via their Twitter and Facebook pages that said Ligons was shot in the parking lot, not inside the club. The statement also issued a call for justice:
"Rick was and ALWAYS will be a part of OUR family and we are doing EVERYTHING in our power to help catch the person that did this," it said. "He did not deserve this, he loved life and will be DEARLY missed."
Levi Houston, a promoter for Club Ice, drove by the parking lot Friday morning to see the place where his friend had been killed.
"A lot of people woke up this morning and thought it couldn't be Rick," Houston said. "Everybody loves him."
Ligons was a regular at Club Ice and the Empire Night Club, Houston said, and never caused any fights or trouble, though he does have a history of misdemeanor arrests, according to state records.
An investigation is under way.
The shooting recalls a series of nightclub shootings in Ybor City last year that shut down the Empire Night Club, which closed after 20-year-old Leslie Jones Jr. was killed in October, and left five wounded at Club Manilla in November.
Community leaders were worried the violence would promote a negative image of Ybor City, while safety concerns prompted the Tampa City Council to explore tougher regulations on area nightclubs, including a possible ban on patrons younger than 21.
Times researcher Carolyn Edds contributed to this report. Marissa Lang can be reached at mlang@tampabay.com or (727) 893-8804 or on Twitter @Marissa_Jae.
Copyright 2012 Tampa Bay Times
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Abuse PolicySorry for the loss of your beloved son, father and friend and loved one. Sad and stupid. Dying face down in a parking lot shouldn't be the option and I guess it's his business if he liked the night life. Thank God Bob Dylan liked the night life. Thank God for anyone who has never considered leaving another human face down in the dirt. I hope Ybor caves in, I'm sick of the thugs .... maybe BayWalk had the right idea. Didn't Ybor used to be gated? Of course the trash I'm thinking of would zoom right in anyway they're buddies with all the ybor trash. Clean it up Ybor, you're disgusting. |
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