The 2014 Sant' Yago Knight Parade in Ybor City brought thousands of people to the historic district. The two-hour parade started at 7 p.m., featuring dozens of floats, marching bands, and of course hundreds of thousands of strings of beads.
Dozens of organizations, including the Rough Riders seen here, threw beads to the waiting hands of the thousands in attendance.
During the parade a mostly adult crowd was eager and loud, with its attention turned to catching beads and partying. After the parade was over, the streets were opened and the crowd thinned a little, but was more raucous. Those who stayed were markedly more vigilant about violence, scattering at the first sign of trouble.
Two times within 30 minutes a scuffle broke out, sending the panicked crowd rushing to the street and into local shops and restaurants. In this photo the crowd in front of Centro Ybor runs from the front of the complex after a fight started.
Within a few seconds the front of the complex was emptied.
There were several scuffles between those in attendance. On two occasions between 10 and 10:30 p.m., crowds were seen running in a panic from Centro Ybor when a confrontation broke out. The Tampa Bay Times reported that a teen was arrested after a shooting around 11 p.m. in that same neighborhood. According to the report the teen was attempting to shoot his ex-girlfriend but shot another juvenile instead.
Realistic-looking 45 caliber toy guns were being sold by vendors at the parade.
There was a strong police presence, including these mounted officers from the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office and Tampa Police Department.
The violence occurred despite a very strong police presence. There was extra security along the parade route and officers were scattered throughout the area. Last year saw a post-parade gun injury as well, when a stray bullet injured a woman.