Three White men suspected of White supremacy and neo-Nazi affiliations were taken into custody after instigating a disturbance ending with gunfire at a group of people in a Gainesville bus stop.
By H. Nelson Goodson
Hispanic News Network U.S.A.
October 20, 2017
Gainesville, Florida - On Thursday, three White men with White supremacy and neo-Nazi affiliations were taken into custody and charged with attempted homicide by Gainesville police after stopping at a bus stop and taunting a group of people by chanting Nazi slogans and salutes with their extended arms and hands. The confrontation ended when one person of the group of people at the bus stop struck a vehicle the neo-Nazis were traveling with a stick and one of the neo-Nazis got out and yelled I'm going to kill you and took out a handgun while the two other suspects encourage him to shoot and the suspect then fired a shot at the group of people at the bus stop missing them and striking a building behind them. The neo-Nazis then fled the scene, but were later stopped and arrested by members of the Alachua County Sheriff's Office and other law enforcement agencies in the area.
According to a Gainesville Police Department press release, it reported that Gainesville area law enforcement located and arrested three men about 20 miles north of Gainesville late Thursday for their role in a shooting that followed the afternoon speech by Richard Spencer (a White Supremacy speaker).
Tyler Eugene Tenbrink, 28, of Richmond, Texas; William H. Fears, 30, and Colton G. Fears, 28, both of Passadena, Texas are all currently in the Alachua County Jail on charges of Attempted Homicide after an investigation revealed they engaged in an argument with another group of people that turned violent with gunfire. At least two of the three have shown connections to extremist groups. Tenbrink is a convicted felon and faces additional charges of possession of a firearm by convicted felon.
The three suspects remain in the Alachua County Jail. The Fears brothers are under $1M bond and Tenbrink under a $3M bond.
Shortly before 5:30 p.m., it was reported that a silver Jeep stopped to argue with a group of protesters and began threatening, offering Nazi salutes and shouting chants about Hitler to the group that was near the bus stop. During the altercation, Tenbrink produced a handgun while the Fears brothers encouraged him to shoot at the victims. Tenbrink fired a single shot at the group which thankfully missed the group and struck a nearby building. The suspects then fled in a silver jeep.
One of the victims amazingly remained calm and was able to get the vehicle tag number and reported it immediately to law enforcement. Due to the Richard Spencer (White supremacy event) at the University of Florida in Gainesville, law enforcement resources from the local, state and Federal level were still operating in "Unified Command" which allowed local investigators and FBI analysts to quickly identify the vehicle and possible occupants. This information was immediately relayed to area law enforcement to look for the vehicle.
The three suspects remain in the Alachua County Jail. The Fears brothers are under $1M bond and Tenbrink under a $3M bond.
Shortly before 5:30 p.m., it was reported that a silver Jeep stopped to argue with a group of protesters and began threatening, offering Nazi salutes and shouting chants about Hitler to the group that was near the bus stop. During the altercation, Tenbrink produced a handgun while the Fears brothers encouraged him to shoot at the victims. Tenbrink fired a single shot at the group which thankfully missed the group and struck a nearby building. The suspects then fled in a silver jeep.
One of the victims amazingly remained calm and was able to get the vehicle tag number and reported it immediately to law enforcement. Due to the Richard Spencer (White supremacy event) at the University of Florida in Gainesville, law enforcement resources from the local, state and Federal level were still operating in "Unified Command" which allowed local investigators and FBI analysts to quickly identify the vehicle and possible occupants. This information was immediately relayed to area law enforcement to look for the vehicle.
Shortly before 9:00 p.m., Alachua County Deputy A. Diaz was off duty and on the way home after working the Spencer event operation heard the radio call of the incident and description of the suspect's vehicle. He was miles north of the last location of the suspect's vehicle that was known from intelligence reports, but began searching and ultimately located the vehicle. Units from Alachua Police Department, High Springs Police Department and the Florida Highway Patrol conducted a high-risk Felony stop on the vehicle at the 405 Mile Marker of Interstate 75 North and took the three suspects into custody.
Officer Ben Tobias, the spokesperson for GPD praised the quick thinking victim and area law enforcement. "I am amazed that immediately after being shot at, a victim had the forethought to get the vehicle's license number" Tobias said. "That key piece of information allowed officials from every level of multiple agencies to quickly identify and arrest these persons. This was an amazing team effort by everyone involved."
"This incident and how quickly it was handled displays the true teamwork that went into yesterdays Unified Command Center activation" said Alachua County Sheriff Sadie Darnell. "Information was quickly gathered and disseminated to all law enforcement partners involved and a potentially dangerous situation was averted quickly with the arrests."
"This incident and how quickly it was handled displays the true teamwork that went into yesterdays Unified Command Center activation" said Alachua County Sheriff Sadie Darnell. "Information was quickly gathered and disseminated to all law enforcement partners involved and a potentially dangerous situation was averted quickly with the arrests."
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