Men Rob Tampa Save A Lot With Shotgun, Shoot At Pursuing Deputies

TAMPA, FL — Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office detectives are looking for two men who robbed a Save a Lot, then shot at deputies as they attempted a traffic stop.

On Sunday at 8:31 p.m., two men entered the Save a Lot at 150 W Fletcher Ave. and started filling up bags with groceries. As they attempted to leave the store, an employee confronted them. One of the suspects brandished a shotgun, threatening the employee.

Running outside, they jumped into a car occupied by two people and exited on West Fletcher Avenue, headed west at a high speed.

At 8:32 p.m., two deputies in a marked patrol car heading east saw the car speeding with no lights on in the opposite direction. Not knowing the men in the car had just robbed the Save a Lot, the deputies turned around to conduct a traffic stop and activated their emergency lights.

The men then shot at the deputies with a shotgun through the back window near the intersection of West Fletcher Avenue and North Boulevard. The deputies pulled over in the parking lot of a bank to check for injuries and damage to their vehicle. Neither deputy was injured.

The Hillsborough sheriff's helicopter and a K-9 team responded to the scene, in addition to the Tampa police, who assisted in the search for the men, who are still at large.

"I'm grateful that our deputies and the employees at the Save a Lot were not harmed by these reckless and dangerous criminals," said Sheriff Chad Chronister. "I urge anyone with information to please contact the sheriff's office so that we may get these suspects off the street."

Detectives are looking for two Hispanic men with short, dark hair and thin builds.

One is around 30 years old, has face tattoos and was wearing a black hoodie with small clover print all over the sweatshirt.

The second man is around 26-years-old, was wearing black jeans and a colorful hoodie with red, yellow, green colors. He has a tattoo of a cross on one of his cheeks.

The car they were in is an older model Buick, late '90s to early 2000s, maroon-colored with dark tinted windows. There may be damage to the right rear quarter panel. It is likely the rear window has damage from the men firing toward the deputies.

Anyone with information should call the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office at 813-247-8200 or report anonymously by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-873-8477 (TIPS).