HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — A man has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder after a man was found dead in the yard of a home in Tampa on Friday morning.
The Tampa Police Department said officers responded to a shooting in the 9200 block of 13th Street North around 8:38 a.m. when they found a male in his early 30s with upper body trauma.
Witnesses informed detectives that the suspect, 22-year-old Amani Berrios, became upset after alleging that his phone had been stolen.
Berrios continued to cause a disturbance at the residence when the victim asked Berrios to quiet down. A brief argument ensued between the two.
According to witnesses, the victim challenged Berrios to a physical altercation. Following the argument, Berrios entered his residence, retrieved a handgun and shot the victim multiple times.
Berrios fled from the scene and entered a nearby Mobil gas station located on N. Nebraska Avenue. Berrios asked the gas station clerk to call 911 and he identified himself to the dispatcher.
The victim was taken to a nearby hospital, where he passed away. Police said Berrios was located nearby and was interviewed by homicide detectives.
Preliminary evidence suggests that both men knew each other and that this was not a random act.
