Father of 6 gunned down in St. Pete street

ST. PETERSBURG (FOX 13) - Monday night, a father of six was shot and killed in South St. Pete. It happened area, Timothy Davis, Jr., 34, died in the street near the Jordan Park area of 23rd Street and 11th Avenue South.

So far, there have been no arrests.

His family is distraught, and so are neighbors. They are too scared to speak on camera, in fear the shooter will recognize their faces. But Davis' close friend is saying enough is enough with the gun violence.

The shooting happened around 6:30 p.m. Monday evening. There was still plenty of daylight in the Jordan Park neighborhood when the shots were fired.

"Literally 90 seconds later, officers were on scene and found a 34-year-old man lying in the street, suffering from gunshot wounds," said Rick Shaw, Public Information Officer with St. Petersburg Police. "They immediately began administering CPR and kept doing it until rescue personnel arrived. However, the man succumbed to his injuries."

A motive is unclear at this point, but, police have gotten some tips.

"We've been told he may have had a dispute with somebody from days earlier but we are not certain," Shaw said.

Davis's friend, Corey Givens said Davis was a family man. Though he said Davis had made some bad choices in life, they did not dictate who he was.

"The family is shaken up," Givens said. "This is the third friend that I've had to bury and I'm 25-years-old, as the result of gun violence. That's an issue here in St. Pete and it needs to change."

Growing up in Jordan Park and witnessing shootings on a regular basis is what inspired him to run for city council. Not only does the gun and gang violence need to end, he said, but so does the fear of speaking to police.

"The snitching, why is that an issue if that leads to justice?" Givens said. "I just talked to a lady who told me that the reason she doesn't want to go on camera is because the man who did this looked her right in the eyes. That's retaliation and that's fear and nobody should have to live like that."

Tim Davis' mom watched her youngest son graduate from high school Tuesday night. Next week, she'll be forced to bury her other son.

"She wants answers as to what happened and the community wants answers," Givens said. "If anybody knows anything, speak up. It doesn't hurt to give an answer. You can stay anonymous but give this mother some peace, let her sleep at night. Speak up."