Rampage, standoff at Seffner business ends with man's arrest

SEFFNER — What started as a visit with a friend ended with a police standoff after a man scared employees of a car business, then threatened to hurt himself.

Corey Dyal, 36, was visiting the owner of the Car Store, 804 E Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. in Seffner, about 8:30 a.m. Friday. The two were friends, but Dyal wasn't acting normally, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.

Deputies said Dyal pulled a knife on the manager, fired a gun in the air behind the store and threatened to hit an employee with a shovel. He went through the car lot and smashed in some windshields and side windows.

Then, he wanted to get inside the dealership. An employee called the police. Dyal kicked in the dealership's back door as employees ran out the front.

Deputies arrived to sort out the chaos, and they started talking with Dyal. He threatened to hurt himself. A SWAT team responded.

The standoff lasted until about 10 a.m., when deputies arrested Dyal. No one was hurt.

Dyal is facing charges that include aggravated assault and burglary, deputies said. He was being held Friday in the Hillsborough County jail.

Carlos Tanner, a Car Store employee, said Dyal is a good person who may have not been properly medicated.

"(He) went off the deep end and wasn't thinking clearly," he said. "He's a good guy."

The dealership's owner and other employees declined to comment.