(RepublicanDaily.org) – Tampa Bay Police shot and killed a stabbing suspect on Monday, July 17 after a wild shootout downtown. Tampa Bay Police Chief Lee Bercaw says the unnamed male adult killed in the recent shootout had repeatedly stabbed the mother of his three small children, then forced his kids into the car and gone to the residence of his brother nearby. Once he arrived, the 33-year-old suspect left his kids there with his brother and took his brother’s AK-47 machine gun, going on the run before his later chase and gunfight with police.
The mother of the children is in critical care in hospital and all police involved in pursuing and eliminating the suspect have been put on temporary leave as is customary following violent action in the line of duty. The shooting is currently under further investigation by state authorities, but at this time we do have the police’s account of what happened.
According to Bercaw, police responded to the stabbing Monday afternoon where they found the female victim gravely injured. The suspect and the children who lived at the home were not on scene. Police later determined that the suspect had taken his kids to his brother’s and taken his brother’s AK-47, which is when they began looking for him and his vehicle in the Tampa area.
Police say that while looking for the suspect around Tampa and following up on the leads, the suspect was later spotted in his car before crashing into another vehicle. This is when he began shooting his AK-47 at police. Shootout witness Sabrina Turner described the violent chaos as “surreal” and says it “felt like a movie.” She reports hearing about 50 shots fired altogether during the deadly confrontation. No officers were hurt during the shootout.
Police say that further details about the shooting will be released as the investigation proceeds, but have not released the identity of the deceased male or the female stabbing victim at this time.
Copyright 2023, RepublicanDaily.org
