The Tucson Police Department is investigating a shooting that took the life of Sean Rashad-Odell Howell that occurred Sunday morning at a strip club on Tucson’s South Side.Howell has known gang affiliations and the fight/shooting appears to have been gang related.
According to the Tucson Police Department, on September 6, 2020 at approximately 2:00 a.m., officers were dispatched to a report of a shooting in the parking lot of Christie’s Cabaret, located at 6608 South Tucson Boulevard. Gunfire was heard in the background during the 911 call.
Pima County Sheriff Deputies were nearby and heard several shots being fired as well. Deputies then saw a vehicle leaving the parking lot of Christie’s Cabaret at a high rate of speed. They attempted to stop the vehicle, according to TPD, but the driver did not pull over.
Deputies pursued the vehicle until it eventually crashed in the 100 block of West Missouri Street. The driver, 25-year-old Dimitri Romero, then fled on foot but was quickly detained by the pursuing deputies.
When officers arrived at the scene, they learned that multiple shots had been fired and a large amount of people had already left the parking lot.
A short time later, Howell was dropped off at Banner University Medical Center South with life-threatening injuries. Howell was pronounced deceased shortly after arrival.
The individuals who dropped Howell off at the hospital did not wait to speak with hospital staff or the police. A license plate number and description of the vehicle they were driving was given to investigating officers.
Detectives with the Gun Crime Reduction Unit and Street Crimes Interdiction Unit were able to determine a verbal altercation occurred in the parking lot between Howell and Romero and several other individuals. During the argument, gang signs were thrown, and a physical fight ensued between Howell and Romero. Romero then produced a handgun and shot Howell. Additional shots were then fired from multiple people in the parking lot.
The vehicle that took Howell to the hospital was located but it is unknown who was with him in the vehicle.
Dimitri Romero was booked into the Pima County Jail on charges of First-Degree Murder and Prohibited Possessor.