Suspect identified in the shooting of two Bethune-Cookman University students
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Investigators on Monday identified the shooter of two Bethune-Cookman University students injured early Saturday.
The suspected shooter is William L. Phillips, 31, who is wanted on two counts of attempted first-degree murder and one count of possession of a weapon and ammunition by a convicted felon.
As officers responded to the scene of the shooting, they were informed that the victims were at Halifax Health Medical Center in Daytona Beach. A friend drove the victims to the hospital in her vehicle, police said.
The two students, one a 21-year-old man, and the other a 24-year-old woman, were "uncooperative with law enforcement at Halifax hospital by stating that the wounds were self-inflicted" while they were inside their vehicle, police wrote in an incident report.
Police said the students were shot at 550 Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune Boulevard near Bethune-Cookman University.
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Witnesses said the suspected shooter, later identified as Phillips, was seen in a Ford pickup with South Carolina plates, police said.
In their investigation, Daytona Beach police discovered that just before the shooting, Phillips and the victims had been at 308 Seabreeze Boulevard in Daytona Beach, a local bar.
"After the victims left the bar they traveled to the area of the 500 block of McLeod Avenue where the suspectapproached their vehicle and fired shots into the vehicle, hitting 2 people inside," police spokeswoman Carrie McCallister wrote in a news release.
On Sunday, Bethune-Cookman University spokeswoman Karen Parks said both students were recovering and were in stable condition.
Anyone in contact with Phillips or with information on his whereabouts is asked to contact Det. Zachary Ravi at RaviZachary@DBPD.US or call him 386-671-5245.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: B-CU students claimed they shot themselves, police say; suspect IDed
