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Search Is On For Gunman In Fatal Club Shooting

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Chip Osowski / News Channel 8

Published: October 17, 2007

Updated: 10/18/2007 09:53 am

Photo Gallery | Video: Club Has Had Problems Before

BRANDON - Karen Taylor Williams had one of the most melodious voices her father ever heard, one so pleasing he'd shed a tear every time he heard her.

The Riverview woman was a wonderful person, Rowe Williams Jr. said, a single parent who went to church and did anything she could for her children.

Early this morning, she was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Hillsborough County deputies are searching for the man they say fired shots inside a Brandon nightclub about 1:20 a.m., hitting Williams, an innocent bystander who died at the scene.

She was 36 and left behind two children and a stepchild. When the shooting occurred, she was standing in line to take a picture, Rowe Williams said.

The victim's parents are seeking justice and blame the club.

"What happened to her will not be in vain," said Carolin Williams, her mother. "I will do something. It may not be in this lifetime, but I will do something to see that an end comes to this kind of foolishness."

The sheriff's office has issued a warrant for Tyrone Lamont Grimes, 27, of 403 Providence Road, Apt. 206, in Brandon.

Witnesses say the shooter, whom they identified only by the nickname "T.Y.," fired three shots from a revolver inside Club Fluid, 2016 Town Center Blvd. Clubgoers say the assailant argued with other men just before the gunfire.

Investigators have not released a motive for the shooting.

The club had about 100 people inside at the time.

One of the clubgoers, Yohannes Samuel, said he was in the back of Club Fluid when the shooting occurred.

"It's not the type of stuff that happens up here," he said. "It could've happened anywhere, to be honest."

Messages left at Williams' home and neighbors' homes were not immediately returned. Neither was a message for Club Fluid.

The club, known as Quench Bartini until recently, has a history of problems, Capt. Robert Spooner said.

"It's one of the more active alcohol establishments or clubs that requires law enforcement attention," he said.

The club had 78 calls for service for deputies in 2005, 81 in 2006 and 63 so far this year, Spooner said. He called the number of calls this year for service "high but not outrageous."

Last June, an argument outside the bar ended with two shots fired, a man and woman wounded and a suspect fleeing. Their injuries weren't considered life-threatening.

This year, deputies have received fight calls on seven dates, robbery calls on three dates and assault or battery calls on four dates, Spooner said. Most of the issues at the club have been on nights catering to teenagers.

This morning's shooting didn't take place on a teen night.

Rowe Williams Jr. said he hopes someone will step forward with more information about Grimes.

"A justice system cannot work in a community without the community," he said.

When the homicide call came this morning, an off-duty deputy working at Hooters on State Road 60 responded and was involved in a single-car accident, sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter said.

The cruiser flipped, and Deputy Chris Culter, 31, had minor injuries.

Culter, who has one year on the force, was taken to University Community Hospital as a precaution.

Anyone with any information about the shooting can call the sheriff's office at (813) 247-8200 or Crime Stoppers at (800) 873-8477.

News Channel 8 reporter Chip Osowski contributed to this report. Tribune reporter Josh Poltilove can be reached at jpoltilove@tampatrib.com or (813) 259-7691. News Channel 8 reporter Josh Thomas can be reached at jthomas@wfla.com or (813) 221-5737.

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