Tampa Homeless Family, Including Pregnant Mother, Shot at While Sleeping in Car in Florida Park

Tampa Police Tampa Shooting Family Shot At in Parking Lot Family living in car

By Joel Brussels , Parent Herald Oct 06, 08:32 pm

Photo: (Photo : Octavio Jones/Getty Images)

A family of five, including a pregnant mom and her three kids, was shot at early on Wednesday morning while they were sleeping in a vehicle at a park in Tampa, Florida, police announced.

The shooting occurred around 4:30 a.m. on the 2200 block of N Oregon Ave in a parking lot located across the Martin Luther King Jr. Recreation Complex, according to Fox News. Cops said the father, an adult male in his 30s, saw headlights that pulled in front of their car.

He then heard gunshots and yelled for his wife, an adult female in her 20s, and their kids to get down. In a press release, police stated that more than a dozen shots were fired at the family's car before the suspect sped off, going southbound on N Oregon Ave.

Pregnant mom grazed by a bullet in the head, avoids serious injury

Luckily for the family, no one was killed in the shooting. The pregnant mom was grazed in the head by a bullet and brought to St. Joseph's Hospital for care. According to the police, the wife's injuries were non-life-threatening.

Tampa Police Chief Mary O'Connor told WFLA that the husband realized his wife was shot after the suspect fled. The couple's kids, a nine- and three-year-old girl and a four-year-old boy, were all uninjured in the shooting.

The family told the police that they had recently moved back to the city of Tampa after living out of the state of Florida for several months. Police said that a relative of the family in Tampa did not have an additional room to house them, so they had been living in a rental car.

Tampa Police officers bought McDonald's breakfast sandwiches for the children after the shooting, and the department worked with Choice Hotels to secure some temporary housing for the family of five.

Tampa Police still searching for the gunman

O'Connor issued a statement later on Wednesday, October 5, saying that the evidence indicates the shooting was a random act by the gunman and the family did not appear to be specifically targeted by the suspect.

Cops said the vehicle from which the bullets were fired was a dark-colored 2-door sedan. The said car is possibly a 2006-2012 model. Tampa Police is encouraging anyone with information about this shooting incident to call them at 813-231-6130. They can share a tip via Tip411, which is accessible via the TampaPD app.

According to Tampa.gov, for people who wish to remain anonymous and be eligible for a cash reward for the tip that they will share, they can visit www.CrimeStoppersTB.com, use the free Crime Stoppers mobile app and select "Tampa," or contact Crimestoppers of Tampa Bay by calling 1-800-873-TIPS (8477).