BLSboy
06-07-2008, 07:16 PM
Rest in peace, Brother.
TAMPA -- Four people were killed and two sheriff's deputies were seriously wounded in two separate, but related shootings this morning, authorities said.
The events unfolded when three people were shot on the back porch of a residence in the Carrollwood area in the north Tampa suburbs at around 9:25 a.m., said J.D. Callaway, spokesman for the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.
The man who shot them — Jorge Orlando Bello Garcia — then drove away in his red Ford pickup truck, only to be confronted by deputies at a busy intersection about 1 1/2 miles away, authorities said. Garcia, the estranged husband of one of the victims, then wounded two deputies and fought with one of them before he was killed by a third deputy, Callaway said.
Witnesses said they watched Garcia get out of the pickup truck and attack one of the deputies after he shot him.
Two of the victims shot at the house were dead on the porch when deputies arrived. A third died at a hospital.
Both of the veteran deputies were in fair condition. Deputy Ray Wilson, 55, who fought with the suspect, was shot in the arm. Deputy Art Lence, 53, was hit in the lower torso, with the bullet exiting through his back.
The victims at the house included Chris Artigas, 45, a captain and 23-year veteran of Hillsborough County Fire Rescue. Artigas was married with two sons and a daughter. The others were Gina Marie Lamantia-Bello, 44, who was renting the house and was the wife of the shooter, and Regina Ann Coffaro, 44.
The motive for the shootings was still unclear, Callaway said, but it was possibly domestic.
Neighbors in the modest, middle-class neighborhood were stunned.
"This is a very good neighborhood, very quiet, very peaceful," said neighbor Connie Morris, who heard the gunshots while walking with her grandchildren Saturday morning. "This is the biggest thing that's ever happened here."
Neighbors said Garcia had been staying at the residence off and on with Lamantia-Bello. Marvin Kinsler, who lives nearby and had spoken to him a few times, described Garcia as friendly and outgoing.
"He was one of those people who would say, 'if you need something just ask,'" Kinsler said. "I still can't imagine him doing that."
John Mullins, who lives next door, was quoted by The Tampa Tribune as saying he heard the shooting on the other side of the fence Saturday morning. Moments later, his wife, Vernetta Mullins, saw Garcia leave in his red truck, she said.
"After the shooting, he came out with a gun in his hand with a white towel draped over it," she told the Tribune.
Artigas' colleagues were mourning his loss Saturday afternoon.
"He was a well-respected and well-rounded individual who did an excellent job for us for 23 years," said Hillsborough Fire Rescue Chief Bill Nesmith. He described Artigas as well-liked fire agency professional who away from the job was an accomplished singer.
Hours after the shooting, the intersection remained blocked off, creating traffic numerous traffic snarls through the area. Investigators worked around Garcia's bullet-riddled Ford pickup truck, which had been stopped in the middle of the road just north of the intersection. Numerous orange cones on the ground marked where bullet casings fell during the shootout.
TAMPA -- Four people were killed and two sheriff's deputies were seriously wounded in two separate, but related shootings this morning, authorities said.
The events unfolded when three people were shot on the back porch of a residence in the Carrollwood area in the north Tampa suburbs at around 9:25 a.m., said J.D. Callaway, spokesman for the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.
The man who shot them — Jorge Orlando Bello Garcia — then drove away in his red Ford pickup truck, only to be confronted by deputies at a busy intersection about 1 1/2 miles away, authorities said. Garcia, the estranged husband of one of the victims, then wounded two deputies and fought with one of them before he was killed by a third deputy, Callaway said.
Witnesses said they watched Garcia get out of the pickup truck and attack one of the deputies after he shot him.
Two of the victims shot at the house were dead on the porch when deputies arrived. A third died at a hospital.
Both of the veteran deputies were in fair condition. Deputy Ray Wilson, 55, who fought with the suspect, was shot in the arm. Deputy Art Lence, 53, was hit in the lower torso, with the bullet exiting through his back.
The victims at the house included Chris Artigas, 45, a captain and 23-year veteran of Hillsborough County Fire Rescue. Artigas was married with two sons and a daughter. The others were Gina Marie Lamantia-Bello, 44, who was renting the house and was the wife of the shooter, and Regina Ann Coffaro, 44.
The motive for the shootings was still unclear, Callaway said, but it was possibly domestic.
Neighbors in the modest, middle-class neighborhood were stunned.
"This is a very good neighborhood, very quiet, very peaceful," said neighbor Connie Morris, who heard the gunshots while walking with her grandchildren Saturday morning. "This is the biggest thing that's ever happened here."
Neighbors said Garcia had been staying at the residence off and on with Lamantia-Bello. Marvin Kinsler, who lives nearby and had spoken to him a few times, described Garcia as friendly and outgoing.
"He was one of those people who would say, 'if you need something just ask,'" Kinsler said. "I still can't imagine him doing that."
John Mullins, who lives next door, was quoted by The Tampa Tribune as saying he heard the shooting on the other side of the fence Saturday morning. Moments later, his wife, Vernetta Mullins, saw Garcia leave in his red truck, she said.
"After the shooting, he came out with a gun in his hand with a white towel draped over it," she told the Tribune.
Artigas' colleagues were mourning his loss Saturday afternoon.
"He was a well-respected and well-rounded individual who did an excellent job for us for 23 years," said Hillsborough Fire Rescue Chief Bill Nesmith. He described Artigas as well-liked fire agency professional who away from the job was an accomplished singer.
Hours after the shooting, the intersection remained blocked off, creating traffic numerous traffic snarls through the area. Investigators worked around Garcia's bullet-riddled Ford pickup truck, which had been stopped in the middle of the road just north of the intersection. Numerous orange cones on the ground marked where bullet casings fell during the shootout.