HIGH SPRINGS, Fla. – A weekend of celebration for more than 20,000 visitors at Ginnie Springs ended in gunfire and now authorities are investigating two separate shootings, including one that was deadly.
The Gilchrist County Sheriff’s Office (GCSO) and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement held a news conference Tuesday to provide updates. A total of four people were shot over the Memorial Day weekend.
The first shooting happened Friday after visitors got into an argument over a parking spot at the park, according to the GCSO.
The two groups got into a fight an hour before the shooting, deputies said. It was assumed the fights were resolved, but Koty Stewart, 34, of Jacksonville, was found shot near the Beaver’s Landing bathhouse. He did not survive.
Two brothers from St. Marys, Georgia, Fisher and Dallas Watts, left the park after the shooting but were later arrested and booked into the Camden County jail in connection with Stewart’s death.
Fisher Watts, 18, was charged with first-degree murder. Dallas Watts was charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and resisting arrest without violence.
Stewart’s sister said ger brother was an amazing human being.
“He wanted nothing more but for his family to be loved and taken care of. His main purpose in life was to take care of his loved ones around him. He was the best son, father, husband, brother and friend,” she said. “This death has impacted our family in a way I never thought could happen. Koty didn’t deserve this. He worked every day and went home to his wife and kids.”
The second shooting was Saturday around 11:30 p.m. in the roadway inside the park, between the Devil’s Spring and the Tube Launch.
Deputies said a “large” fight broke out, causing someone to shoot into the crowd. Three people were hit and taken to the hospital.
Two people were treated and released, but the third person was still in the hospital in serious condition.
There were no arrests made in the Saturday shooting.
WATCH: Full Gilchrist County Sheriff’s Office news conference
The FDLE expects to hear from witnesses.
Samantha Hoffman said she was at the park when she heard around 11 to 12 shots.
“We didn’t originally know the full story and scope of what had happened, so we felt very unsafe,” Hoffman said. “We don’t know what triggered the shooting.”
Hoffman talked about the park closing.
“At first they were going to close the water area,” she said. “And then throughout the morning time, within two hours, they just decided: Park’s closed. Everyone has to leave, and they just put a sign out.”
If you have any information about these shootings, you’re urged to call 386-462-9975.
The sheriff’s office said crowd and drug and alcohol issues at Ginnie Springs have escalated over the years.
There were 35 police officers from various agencies at the park over the weekend.
The shootings closed the park, but it was reopened the next day.