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HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. (WESH) — Tampa police arrested a man accused of shooting at a homeless family while they slept in their car on Wednesday, sending a pregnant mother to the hospital.
Detectives identified Christopher Stamat Jr., 21, as the owner of a black BMW reportedly caught on camera ‘canvassing’ the area where the shooting occurred.
Police obtained a search warrant for Stamat’s apartment & car, which they said turned up an empty gun box for a 9 mm handgun, as well as bullet casings allegedly matching the ones found at the crime scene.
Police said the family of 5, consisting of 3 young children, a father, & a mother who was 9 weeks pregnant, were sleeping in a car when a vehicle approached around 4:30 a.m., opened fire & drove away.
Tampa Police Chief Mary O’Connor said the father yelled for his family to take cover as several bullets struck their sedan.
“Once the vehicle flees, he realizes his wife is shot,” Chief O’Connor said on Wednesday. “She got shot in the head. By the grace of God, the children did not get hit.”
Authorities said the bullet that struck the mother grazed her in the head. She was transported to an area hospital for treatment.
Tampa police said Stamat did not provide a motive for the shooting, but said that he felt that people were following & stalking him using multiple vehicles, bikes & on foot. There was reportedly no indication that Stamat & the victims knew each other.
Stamat faces 6 felony charges, including 4 counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, 1 count of second degree attempted murder & 1 count of shooting into a vehicle.
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