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25-year-old charged after early-morning shooting at Clearwater beach substation; no injuries
Summary
Chief Eric Gandy said a 25-year-old man, Gamaleel Reyes, fired at the Clearwater Police Departmentbeach substation about 4 a.m., then called 911 accepting responsibility. Tampa bomb squad swept the vehicle; no explosives were found. Reyes surrendered and faces multiple felony charges. Motive is unknown.
Chief Eric Gandy of the Clearwater Police Department said a 25-year-old man, Gamaleel Reyes, fired multiple rounds at the department's beach substation at about 4 a.m. and later called 911 taking responsibility for the shooting; no officers or members of the public were injured.
Gandy said the shooting occurred at the department's beach substation at 700 Bayway. Officers heard gunfire, went outside and saw a suspect vehicle leaving the scene; investigators later arrested Reyes after he placed the 911 call. "We have the weapon and he surrendered peacefully," Gandy said.
The Tampa bomb squad was called to the scene because of evidence and "some unique circumstances," Gandy said; the squad swept the vehicle and "did not find any indications of explosive materials." Gandy said detectives have corroborating evidence that supports Reyes's 911 call and the shooting, but added that "a lot remains to be discovered."
Clearwater police have charged Reyes with shooting into a building; shooting into an occupied and an unoccupied vehicle; discharging a firearm from a vehicle within 1,000 feet of a person; use of a firearm during the commission of a felony; and felony criminal mischief. Gandy said the motive is unknown and detectives were interviewing family members and reviewing Reyes's background, including a reported period of time in the U.S. Coast Guard.
Gandy described the attack as "targeted, purposeful and accurate," noting rounds struck the station and entered the driver's side window of a police car. Officers had not been sitting in that vehicle at the time, and Gandy said the outcome "could have been much different." He said investigators were still counting rounds and reviewing available video feeds, and that the department's real-time crime center was assisting with video review. Police recovered a handgun as evidence.
Anyone who had contact with Reyes or who has information is asked to call Clearwater Police Department tips at (727) 562-4242. Gandy said investigators will continue to seek information and to work through forensic and interview leads; he declined to discuss some details about the scene that prompted the bomb-squad response.
No formal charges beyond those listed were announced at the briefing; investigators said they were continuing their work and had not identified a motive.
