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Man shot dead outside Tampa apartment, girlfriend's son in custody

Posted at 5:55 AM, Dec 28, 2017
and last updated 2017-12-29 05:40:04-05

TAMPA, Fla. — The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office is investigating a domestic homicide that occurred Thursday morning in Tampa.

HCSO received the first 911 call at 1:43 a.m. with the caller indicating an altercation was taking place inside an apartment located in the 3800 block of N. Cortez Circle in Tampa.

When deputies arrived on scene they located Brian Vessell, 46, outside the apartment entrance deceased from multiple gunshot wounds, according to HCSO.

Detectives checked the residence and located an adult female inside the residence unharmed.

Detectives began a search for 22-year-old Tyler Bardin. They believe that Vessell and Bardin were involved in an altercation and that Vessell was shot multiple times.

HCSO says that Bardin is the son of Vessell's girlfriend and that the three lived together at the residence.

Throughout their investigation, they had reason to believe that Bardin was hiding in the apartment. In an abundance of caution, HCSO called out their crisis negotiation team and SWAT team to try to bring the situation to a peaceful resolution. 

After securing the residence, they began negotiations and attempted to make contact with Bardin. They had negative results.

Around 11:45 a.m. Bardin was seen trying to run out the back door of the residence at which time he was taken into custody. He has not been charged at this time.

HCSO says they are currently processing the scene and executing their search warrant.

There have been domestic calls at the residence in the past, according to deputies, but they are still researching to determine if they were related to the individuals involved in this investigation. They hope to determine if there was any self-defense issue and what the circumstances were.

The case has been turned over to the State Attorneys Office who will review the evidence and determine if charges are necessary.