SOBE Shooting Incident Not Related to Gay Pride

MIAMI BEACH, FL — Despite its close proximity, Miami Beach police said there was no connection between the "non-contact" shooting that occurred along Ocean Drive over the weekend and the Gay Pride Week festivities that wrapped up on Sunday.

Turnel Titus Farley was detained on Friday night shortly after the 9 p.m. incident and later charged with attempting to flee police, child neglect and weapons offenses. Miami Beach police said at least one witness saw Farley fire a handgun from a Chevrolet Silverado parked at 10 Street and Ocean Drive.

Miami Beach police said that the 31-year-0ld Farley of the 3200 block of Conley Downs Drive in Decatur, Ga. also had a juvenile in the backseat of the vehicle when police stopped him.

The incident came as the city was gearing up for a number of Gay Pride Week festivities just one block north of the reported shooting. No one was injured.

"The event had nothing to do with Gay Pride weekend," Ernesto Rodriguez of the Miami Beach Police Department told Patch on Monday.

Police said Farley twice refused to stop when he was first spotted in the 100 block of 8 Street.

"A subject vehicle was stopped minutes later along the 900 block of Collins Avenue," Ernesto Rodriguez of the Miami Beach Police Department told Patch at the time of the incident.

A witness told police that he saw Farley fire the handgun into the air while the Silverado was parked along the shoulder not far from the Ocean's Ten Restaurant. The business is located at 960 Ocean Drive.

Police said Farley's fiancee and another person were standing outside on the passenger side of the vehicle when the gun was fired.

Police said they found a silver and black handgun stuffed in Farley's underwear. The gun had been reported stolen in DeKalb County, Ga.

Arrest documents stated that Farley is prohibited from carrying a firearm based on a prior criminal history in Georgia.

At the time of the shooting, there was a VIP reception taking place around the Gay Pride Week festivities at the W South Beach, which is located at 2201 Collins Ave.