Man holding baby dies in triple shooting in Gainesville

Baby, 2nd man hospitalized with gunshot wound; GPD searching for 2 gunmen

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – One person was killed and another two, including a baby, were hospitalized after two masked men opened fire into a home on Northwest 4th Place in Gainesville, according to the Gainesville Police Department. 

Investigators said two men armed with handguns began firing shots from the doorway into the home, near the University of Florida campus, at 11:40 p.m. Wednesday.

Officers were already in the area when multiple 911 calls came in about the shooting. They arrived in less than a minute.

Police said a family was having a get together and it appeared that more than 20 people were inside the home when the gunfire began. Many people were running away from the home when officers arrived.

Antonio Mason, 35, died at the scene after suffering gunshot wounds to the chest, GPD said.

Mason was holding his 11-month-old daughter at the time, who was also shot in the arm.

Another man, 21,  suffered a gunshot wound to his arm. He and the infant were taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries and are expected to recover, GPD said.

The shooters fled the scene before police arrived and have not been identified. One of the occupants tried to run after the shooters, but was unsuccessful, GPD said.

Mason did not live in the home where the shooting happened. A motive for the shooting is unknown, but police said the home appears to have been targeted.

GPD said officers found shell casings from two different weapons, but investigators are still working to try to determine the shooters' identities. K-9 units and the Joint Aviation Unit's helicopter were used to look for them. 

“What kind of person can point a gun at a father holding an infant and make the barbaric decision to pull that trigger? There is no excuse whatsoever for this to happen,” GPD Officer Ben Tobias said. “We are expending every resource we have available to try to identify and capture those responsible for this horrendous act of violence."

Residents have been advised to stay in their homes for safety as Gainesville police search the area. Patrols will be increased in the area while officers attempt to identify the shooters.

Detectives are going door to door to interview potential witnesses.

A neighbor told News4Jax that the people in the house have been living there for only a couple of months.

Tina Thomas, who lives in the area, was dropping her child off at the daycare across the street this morning. "I feel a little unsafe," said Thomas. "If they shot an infant, they have no heart and don't care."

Anyone with information is asked to contact GPD’s Detective Bureau at 352-393-7670 or CrimeStoppers at 352-372-STOP. Anonymous tips can be submitted by texting keyword GPDFL plus a tip to 274637.

GPD is offering a $3,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest of the shooters.