The Gainesville Police Department (GPD) arrested three men in Marion County for the Easter Sunday shooting at TB McPherson Park that killed 20-year-old Ontaria Baisden.
At a Tuesday press conference, GPD Chief Nelson Moya said the three men were arrested in the past week and are being held in the Marion County Jail. He said one of the men was already in jail for an unrelated charge.
The men arrested are Gabriel Frazier Jr., a 20-year-old Ocala resident; Jarrett Jones, a 19-year-old from Georgia; and 21-year-old Kaniel Edwards, a 21-year-old Ocala resident. Both Edwards and Frazier have prior arrests in Marion County, and GPD said all three have been residing in Ocala.
Moya said two of the arrested men had already confessed to being involved.
Moya said the three suspects are part of two separate gangs, and he said the men came to the Easter celebration in Gainesville in search of each other. Moya said they then decided to open fire at each other but instead hit Baisden, along with two other victims.
Baisden died from her injuries four days after the shooting, but the other two victims survived with non-life-threatening injuries.
Moya said the focus of the conference is to remember Baisden. He said her picture is the one that should be seen and shared.
“The only picture who’s worth seeing today is that beautiful life right there,” Moya said as he pointed to a portrait of Baisden. “And I want us to all acknowledge that.”
Moya said GPD prioritized the case because of the public nature of the shooting, with thousands at the scene, and the innocent victim who was killed. He recognized department members who participated in the investigation and met with the family over the months, including Detective Cpl. Matt Quinn.
“We now seek to our partners, the State Attorney’s Office, to take the torch from here and complete the justice voyage and close this loop so that these individuals never see the light of day,” Moya said.
GPD asked for the public’s help in the case and shared video of the event to help identify the shooters. Moya said it took some time to obtain probable cause, and he said the video footage, along with forensic evidence and eyewitness testimony, helped lead the investigation to the arrested men.
Moya said the department has the three suspects they sought, but as the department continues to dig into the case, he said GPD will pursue any evidence that shows others being culpable.
The shooting also prompted discussion by the Gainesville City Commission and city leaders. Days after the shooting, City Manager Cynthia Curry said the Easter event should never have happened at the park.
Gainesville had had problems with large events at TB McPherson and a regular event called Peaceful Sundays. The city had moved away from allowing the event to happen at the park, which leaders called too small for the hundreds of participants.
The Easter event was approved under another name, but Curry told commissioners that the event was labeled an “adult Easter egg hunt.”
Moya told Mainstreet at the press conference that GPD has two active internal investigations into staff concerning the event. He said those cases were getting close to the end.
