Man held ex-girlfriend at gunpoint, barricaded inside an apartment before shooting, killing himself
By: Newly released bodycam footage shows the intense moments after a man held his ex-girlfriend at gunpoint and barricaded himself inside a family's apartment, according to the Tampa Police Department.
A police detective responded around 3:40 p.m. Thursday, to the Meridian Pointe Apartments on East Hillsborough Avenue after receiving a call from a teen girl saying her ex-boyfriend was following her.
The detective was the lead investigator on a previous harassing phone calls case involving the teens.
Police say the ex-boyfriend, identified as 18-year-old Damarion Murray, then pulled a gun from his waistband and chased the girl into an apartment building, shooting at her twice.
"Thankfully, she was not struck," the police department wrote in a release.
Murray held the girl at gunpoint, forced her into an occupied apartment and barricaded the door, according to investigators.
"Murray then called a family member, stating 'Either she dies, or I die,' as the family member tried to convince him to let everyone leave safely," police said.
Bodycam footage shows officers forcing entry into that apartment, removing chairs and other furniture placed in front of the door. A girl inside the apartment can be heard screaming for help before pushing through the obstacles in the door and running to safety.
"There's kids. There's kids," officers said as they made their way further into the apartment.
Police could then be heard yelling, "Hands up! Hands up, now!" as Murray ran into the back room of the apartment.
As officers gave orders for Murray to come out of the back room, two gunshots rang out.
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"Immediately following the second gunshot and with the belief their lives were in immediate danger, Officer Joshua Williams, a five-year veteran of the Tampa Police Department with ten years of previous law enforcement experience, fired two rounds towards the back room," the Tampa Police Department said.
Officers continued helping kids exit out the front door of the apartment until Murray was the only one left inside.
The SWAT team was activated and entered into a standoff with Murray. After an hour and a half with no response, police said they went into the back room to find Murray dead in a closet from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The medical examiner confirmed that Murray died by suicide.
“This was a terrifying situation that could have ended tragically for many innocent people in an apartment complex filled with families and children,” Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw said. “I am incredibly proud of the bravery and quick actions of our detectives and officers, who put their own lives on the line to protect the victim and the apartment occupants. It is fortunate that no innocent lives were lost.”