Missouri, USA – A tragic incident occurred in Sikeston, Missouri, where a young man was killed and a woman was severely injured in a shooting. 20-year-old Tanner Watkins and 18-year-old Kaleb Ramsey were charged with 1st degree murder after an online interaction went sour.
The confrontation began with a conversation that took place on social media, and screenshots show an encounter that purportedly sparked the deadly shooting.
According to reports, the argument was sparked by a laughing emoji posted by Watkins under a Facebook photo of him and a female companion. The victim had reacted to the post with a laughing emoji, which apparently infuriated Watkins.
“What's funny?” he wrote. “Tryna get some bread, huh? An[d] sht, idk, you the one on my dock. Nah, you always on some funny sht. The fck you even react to my sht for, anyways? I'm ready though.” Watkins ended this last comment with a target emoji and a thumbs-up.
The identities of the victims have not yet been released by law enforcement, so it's unclear if the deceased is the person Watkins was arguing with in the aforementioned post.
However, both victims are reportedly from the Sikeston area. Reports say Fitzgerald was shot in the face and pronounced dead at the scene. The other victim, an 18-year-old woman, was taken to hospital for life-threatening injuries.
“They were communicating through social media, and it looked like they were trying to meet up at a location to have a fight,” Chief Jim McMillen said. One vehicle with four people inside were waiting while two other vehicles arrived with about five other people inside, McMillen said. Shots were then fired from both vehicles.
Both Watkins and Ramsey have been charged with murder in the first degree, three counts of assault in the first degree, four counts of “unlawful use of a weapon and armed criminal action.” Police were quickly called to respond to sounds of gunfire.
The park is near a golf course, where many people were still out. “Vehicles leaving, they got those vehicles stopped, addressed the people inside, there were some that were injured and struck by gunfire,” McMillen said. “It's unusual to have a type of incident like this in this location, so obviously people were very concerned,” he added. Police say guns have been taken for evidence.