One man is dead after a shooting at AA Autobody on W Columbus Drive. The shooting happened at 10:22 a.m. on Wednesday.
“I’m shocked right now, because, I can’t still believe it, I can’t still believe it, the guy who was a worker was a good worker,” Julian, who was at the scene, said. “The guy who got shot, he was the employee, the guy who shot him, he was the owner.”
Police said the victim, 41-year-old Benjamin Rodriguez Barral, died and the suspect, 34-year-old Alex Glenn Alfonso, is in custody. Julian said he knew the shooter.
“It is scary and I knew the guy personally, he was a very mild guy so it really shocked me that this happens, I’m shocked right now,” he said.
In a move that shocked police, they say Alfonso suspect fled, then came back to the crime scene to turn himself in.
“It is very unusual that someone would within the hour come back to the crime scene,” Tampa police public information officer Steve Hegarty said.
People who knew both men are wondering why this happened.
“I think it was about a relationship,” Julian said. “It was about a lady in the middle, in between, something like that.”
At this time, Alfonso has not been charged with a crime. Tampa Police detectives are working with the State Attorneys Office to determine what charges, if any, might be applicable in this case. The case remains under investigation.
