On Christmas night 2024, at about 9:40 PM, a shooting near the Palatka Daily News building in the 1800 block of St. Johns Avenue left three people wounded and two dead. Tyree Dahvon Gilyard, 23, of Crescent City, was pronounced dead at the scene. A 17-year-old, Dorrion McKinnon of Palatka, died after being taken to hospital; a 21-year-old male from Crescent City was critically injured and transported to a trauma center.

The shooting occurred after officers were trying to disperse a crowd of roughly 200 people in a nearby parking lot on North 19th Street. Police heard multiple gunshots coming from the direction of the newspaper building; shell casings and bullet holes were found around the St. Johns Avenue property. One person of interest was taken in for a preliminary interview and police said there was no immediate threat to the community. The Palatka Police Department identified Lt. Colten Lee and Sgt. David Lazo as handling the investigation.

Gilyard was born October 6, 2001, in Orange Park to Paulette Mitchner and the late Cecil B. Gilyard Jr. He graduated from Crescent City Jr. & Sr. High School in 2020 and was a father to a son, Tyree Jr. If anyone witnessed the shooting or has information that could help the investigation, please contact Palatka police or Crime Stoppers of Northeast Florida.