Accused Carjacker Apprehended; 1 Person Treated For Gunshot

ZEPHYRHILLS, FL — A 36-year-old man accused of a carjacking and shooting a man in the McDonald's parking lot at 34367 State Road 54, Zephyrhills, has been apprehended following an overnight manhunt.

Pasco County Sheriff's deputies arrested Luis Tull in Dade City following a crime spree that lasted 11 hours.

The incident unfolded around 8 p.m. Wednesday when Tull approached a driver he knew in the restaurant's parking lot. Tull produced a gun and demanded that the driver relinquish his vehicle. The two men began to struggle.

Pasco County Sheriff

Tull then approached a second driver in the McDonald's parking lot and began struggling with him as well. The first driver rushed in to assist the second driver, and Tull shot him in the leg.

Resident Fran Stubbs said she drove past the McDonald's shortly after the carjacking Wednesday night

"It was quite frightening," she said. "The police were speeding in from everywhere. As I sat at the light, you could see it was very serious."

"It could have been much worse," said Sheriff Chris Nocco. The gunshot injury was not life-threatening.

Nocco said Tull stole the second driver's vehicle and headed to the home of an aquaintance in Dade City, abandoning the carjacked vehicle near U.S. 98. When he arrived at the home, he pointed his gun at the acquaintance but left the house without taking further action.

In the meantime, Pasco deputies found the abandoned carjacked vehicle and called in K9 units. The dogs tracked Tull to another Dade City home where the woman who answered the door told deputies that her vehicle had just been stolen.

Worried about the safety of residents, the sheriff's office began sending out reverse 911 calls to the throughout the night to warn the community of the danger Tull presented.

One of the residents receiving a call notified the sheriff's office Thursday morning that he had seen Tull get into a Mustang. The driver of the Mustang later told deputies that he was driving his car when Tull jumped in. Tull indicated that he had a gun and ordered the man to drive as Tull sat in the front passenger seat.

Around 10 a.m., deputies in two separate vehicles spotted the Mustang on 14th Street in Dade City and blocked it in, one in the front and the other in the back.

Tull told the driver to run the blockade but, instead, the driver jumped out of the Mustang with his hands raised. Tull then moved over to the driver's seat and began to back up toward the deputy who was standing outside her vehicle. He then accelerated toward the deputy blocking the Mustang from the front. Both deputies fired at the Mustang but didn't hit him.

Tull pulled off the road into the grass and crashed the Mustang. The deputies chased him on foot and used a taser to apprehend Tull.

The two deputies have been placed on routine administrative leave for firing their weapons.

Nocco said the sheriff's victims advocate will work with all the residents Tull encountered during his crime spree.

Tull has been charged with three counts of carjacking, possession of a weapon by a felon, one count of aggravated battery with a firearm, aggravated assault and fleeing and eluding law enforcement. Further charges are pending from the sheriff, the Zephyrhills and Dade City police departments.

Nocco said Tull has already done time in prison. He's has past arrests for aggravated battery and assault, domestic violence with strangulation and grand theft as well as other charges.