TODD DAVIS/ WFLA photo

News Channel 8 Video

By ANTHONY MCCARTNEY
of The Tampa Tribune

TAMPA – Law enforcement officials are searching for a man suspected of firing a BB gun at two motorists this afternoon, including an off-duty sheriff’s deputy.

Both incidents occurred within the span of two hours Monday, and both involved a white man driving a dark or green-colored Nissan Altima, police said. The man has blond hair and was wearing an A, or “muscle,” shirt.

Off-duty deputy Juan Morales was waiting for a red light at the corner of N. 40th St. and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. around 4:25 p.m. when the passenger side window of his pickup truck shattered.

He had made eye contact with the driver of the Altima seconds earlier, but did not perceive any threat, Tampa police Lt. Rob Lovering said.

The Altima’s driver then turned and drove south on 40th Street.

Helicopters and sheriff’s and police patrol units are actively searching for the Altima and its driver.

Lovering said two hours earlier, the same man confronted the driver of another pickup on the 2500 block of N. 70th St. That incident ended when the Altima’s driver pulled out a handgun and shot out the pickup’s back window.

Police recovered a small, silver BB from that scene, Lovering said. Although police had not recovered a BB from Morales’ pickup, they suspect the same weapon was used.

Anyone with information is asked to call police at (813) 231-6130.

Stay with TBO.com for updates.

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