Home invasion suspect stabs Tampa man, who shoots back

TAMPA — Police say a Tampa man thwarted a robbery attempt at his North Boulevard home late Thursday by shooting at a suspect who stabbed the man's hand as he tried breaking in.

Police were looking for the suspect early Friday and did not know if any of the man's bullets hit him as he drove away.

The incident started shortly after Preston Taylor, 35, and his wife walked a guest to their back door to say good night around 11:10 p.m. Taylor returned to his door about five minutes later because he heard knocking, police said. He believed the guest had returned.

The person rapping on his door turned out to be a stranger wielding a silver kitchen knife. Only the man's eyes were visible, the rest of his face covered by a black cloth wrapped around his head, police said.

The man told Taylor he planned to rob him, prompting Taylor to try shutting the door. As he pushed it shut, police said the suspect stabbed him in the left hand. Despite the injury, Taylor managed to lock the man outside.

But the man wasn't ready to give up on the break-in, police said, as he tried breaking a window next to the door. That sent Taylor racing for his handgun, and he fired several shots at the window to protect his wife and children, police said.

Paramedics treated Taylor's stab wound at his home.

The suspect ran north in an alley. Police said a neighbor saw a black Honda with a loud muffler leaving the area. The suspect was described as a thin black man, about 5 feet 8 with light-colored eyes, black clothing and "a young-sounding voice."

The suspected getaway vehicle is a black four-door Honda made in the mid 1990s, possibly with a lowered suspension.

Anyone with information is asked to call Tampa police at (813) 231-6130 or Crime Stoppers toll-free at 1-800-873-8477. You can also report a crime online.

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