JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – U.S. marshals arrested a man Friday in connection with a birthday party shooting in the Brooklyn area last month in which 11 people were shot.
Toddrick Ashley, who was arrested at an apartment complex in the 2800 block of Sophia Street, is charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Police said they found a weapon when they arrested Ashley.
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Police announced the arrest at a news conference Monday morning and said they are looking for more suspects.
Police said a witness who knows Ashley saw him pull a gun from his waistband while at the 21st birthday party for three women at J.S. Johnson Community Center in the 300 block of Spruce Street. Police said the witness saw Ashley point the gun toward someone, begin walking toward that person and start shooting into a crowd of about 150 people.
An unborn child was killed in the shooting.
Ashley, 22, was released from prison in May after being convicted of grand theft auto and leaving the scene of an accident involving injury in March 2010. He has a lengthy arrest record dating back to 2007.
Police said they're waiting for ballistics results of the shooting to come back before more charges could potentially be filed against Ashley.
Lt. Rob Schoonover said he couldn't say who Ashley shot and if he shot the pregnant woman resulting in the unborn child's death. Schoonover said it will be up to the state attorney's office to decide the appropriate charge, should it be upgraded.
He said the motive for the shooting may have come down to people from different parts of town not getting along.
"There is, I guess, a group that comes around that is paid to perform at these parties, and they play rap music. So it was common for other sections of town to show up at these events," Schoonover said. "I guess at this event, we kind of got a mixture of different groups. That's where the trouble started."
Schoonover said police are having difficulty getting witnesses to tell them what happened.
If you know anything about the mass shooting in the Brooklyn community, call Crime Stoppers at 866-845-TIPS.