University of Tampa student shot, killed early Saturday after trying to get into stranger’s car

TAMPA — A University of Tampa student was killed early Saturday morning after he was shot attempting to get into a stranger’s car in West Tampa, according to Tampa Police.

Officers were sent to the 1000 block of West Arch Street, near Julian B. Lane Riverfront Park, at about 1:20 a.m., the agency said. When they arrived, they found a man suffering from a gunshot wound near the street’s intersection with North Boulevard.

Officers rendered aid to the man, whose identity has not been released, until Tampa Fire Rescue arrived. Shortly after, the man was pronounced dead, police said.

The agency reported the student had spent the night hanging out with friends at the bars and businesses along South Howard Avenue.

At the end of the night, he took an Uber ride to his home near the 1000 block of West Arch Street, police said. The man had just exited the Uber when, for unknown reasons, he walked to another car parked along the street and tried to get inside while the vehicle’s owner was in the driver’s seat.

The driver, whose identity is being withheld by police due to Florida’s Marsy’s Law, told investigators he didn’t know the student and “feared for his life” when the student tried to force his way into his vehicle.

During the confrontation, the owner of the vehicle, a male, shot the student in the upper body, police said. The vehicle owner remained at the scene.

According to the Tampa Police Department, the shooter has been cooperating with investigators and is not currently facing criminal charges. However, whether he is ultimately charged will be up to the State Attorney’s Office, the agency said.