Sheriff: One dead in shooting at Carrollwood home linked to Save A Lot robbery
CARROLLWOOD, Fla. - One person is dead after charging at law enforcement with a gun inside a Carrollwood home on Lake Ellen Circle on Tuesday, law enforcement said.
Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said the multi-agency shooting was connected to the Mother's Day robbery at a Save A Lot in Tampa. Tuesday's shooting involved US Marshals Task Force members and no law enforcement officials were injured, investigators confirmed.
RELATED: Save A Lot robbery suspects fire shotgun at Hillsborough deputies, officials say
US Marshals Task Force received intel leading them to 30-year-old Pedro Gamez, who is believed to be a suspect in the Save A Lot robbery, HCSO officials said. Gamez and three other suspects left the scene of the robbery Sunday night and later shot at Hillsborough County deputies, who were trying to pull them over for speeding.
"These were extremely violent individuals with lengthy criminal histories, and it was clear by their actions that they were willing to do whatever it takes not to get arrested," Sheriff Chronister said.
On Tuesday, task force officers encountered Rico Dyches, 24, and a woman leaving a Carrollwood home, Hillsborough County deputies said. When the task force was given the order to move in, Dyches rammed into the officers' vehicles with a stolen Black Mercedes before being stopped. Dyches was taken into custody on warrants out of Polk County, Sheriff Chronister said.
Both the woman and Dyches told law enforcement that Gamez was inside the Carrollwood home on Lake Ellen Circle. The SWAT team was activated at the home and Gamez peacefully surrendered to law enforcement, and told officers that no one else was inside the home.
Task force officers went inside the home to clear it room-by-room, and 26-year-old Victor Gamez came out of a bedroom closet with a gun. Victor Gamez charged at both task force officers, and they fired multiple shots at the man, Sheriff Chronister confirmed.
A Tampa Police Department officer and a Pinellas County Sheriff's Office deputy were the task force members who fired shots, according to HCSO.
Victor Gamez was taken to a local hospital where he died from his injuries, law enforcement said.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is also taking over the investigation into the multi-agency shooting.
Previous: Hillsborough deputies search for Save A Lot robbery suspects
Hillsborough County deputies are still looking for two people responsible for robbing a Save A Lot on Fletcher and Florida avenues, along with two others who were waiting in a getaway vehicle. They said the suspects also fired at deputies when they tried to pull them over.
Deputies said during the robbery on Sunday, men started filling up bags with groceries and when they tried to leave without paying, an employee confronted them.
Investigators said the suspects jumped into a car where two others were waiting and left. Two deputies eventually spotted them speeding and tried to pull them over, unaware they had just robbed the Save A Lot, the agency reported. Instead of stopping, investigators said the suspects fired at the two deputies with a shotgun.