TAMPA, Fla- — Deputies say a young child was sent to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries after being shot in a gas station Saturday.
On November 6, around 10 a.m., the suspect engaged in a verbal dispute with another customer at the CITGO gas station, located at 12020 E Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
The sheriff says after the argument the suspect was seen following the other customer out of the parking lot, heading north on Pine Street. While driving in their respective vehicles, the suspect pulled up next to the other customer's car, and shot into it, striking a child in the leg. The juvenile victim was transported to the hospital with a non-life-threatening injury.
"A verbal dispute between two grown men should never end with a child being shot, and I pray for the child's quick recovery," said Sheriff Chad Chronister. "Not only did this suspect put the lives of the victim and the other customer in danger, but also all those who shared the road with them while this incident took place."
The suspect has been identified as Jontavius Laquan Shaeron Monroe, 33. Monroe is an eight-time convicted felon according to HCSO.
The sheriff's office said on Tuesday that Monroe was in custody. He faces charges of Attempted Murder in the First Degree Premeditated Firearm - Great Bodily Harm; Aggravated Battery Great Bodily Harm and Deadly Weapon; Discharge Firearm from a Vehicle (Occupant); Felon in Possession of a Firearm and Shooting At, Within, or Into a Vehicle.
Monroe is in jail with no bond.
