Florida tourist shot dead while protecting his baby at Miami Beach restaurant

The suspected gunman told police he 'was high on mushrooms'

A young father died after a gunman walked into a Miami Beach restaurant and pointed a gun at the father’s 1-year-old son, police said. 

Dustin Wakefield, 21, had been on vacation from Castle Rock, Colorado with his family. They were eating at the La Cerveceria restaurant around 6:30 p.m. Wednesday when a man with a gun walked through the door. 

This image provided by the Miami-Dade Police Department shows Tamarius Blair Davis Jr., who fatally shot a tourist eating dinner with his family at a Miami Beach restaurant, police and a family member said.  (Miami-Dade Police Department)

"This guy came in with a gun waving it, saying it's time to die. He pointed the gun at his son and Dustin said, 'He's only a boy,'" Mike Wakefield, the victim’s uncle, told the Miami Herald. "Dustin stood up between the gunman and the baby and he shot him. He shot him multiple times on the ground."

In a short video taken immediately after the shooting and obtained by WSVN-TV, the gunman – later identified as Tamarius Blair Davis Jr. of Norcross, Georgia – can be seen dancing while people are heard screaming. The gunman then walks up some steps, the weapon in his hand.  

Davis fled the restaurant, police said, and was captured in a nearby alley. Cellphone video obtained by the Herald shows Davis lying spread-eagle on his back and smiling as three officers approach with their guns pointed towards him yelling commands, warning him that if he touches his gun he will be shot. 

Davis then rolled onto his side into a fetal position, before again rolling onto his back as officers approached. Davis screamed "I give, I give, I give" as officers flip him onto his stomach and handcuff him. The video shows a black handgun lying about 10 feet away. 

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Davis, 22, told investigators he shot Wakefield because he "was high on mushrooms, which made him feel empowered," according to a police arrest report obtained by Fox News. 

Davis is charged with murder and was being held without bond Wednesday at the Miami-Dade County Jail. Jail records do not indicate if he has an attorney. 

Mike Wakefield said of his nephew, who worked in construction, "was the kindest kid. He loved his family. He loved being a dad."

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Wakefield has set up a GoFundMe account for his nephew’s family. 

"With the tragedy that happened … in Miami Dustin’s family will need all the help they can get thank you very much," the page reads. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report

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