‘Suspicious items’ found in car after man makes bomb threat, police say

“Suspicious items” were found in a car where a man shot and killed himself after making a bomb threat on Wednesday afternoon, police say.

Shortly after 3:30 p.m., Florida Department of Transportation staff received a call from a man who said he was in the parking lot at 11201 McKinley Drive and had a bomb, the Tampa Police Department said in a news release. Police say the man made suicidal statements and said he planned to drive his car into the building and hurt people.

When officers arrived, they found the man in a blue vehicle in the parking lot. As they approached the vehicle, the man put a gun to his head. He shot himself as officers tried to talk to him, according to the news release.

The Tampa police bomb team was dispatched after “suspicious items, including wires, were observed in the car,” the news release states.

Florida Department of Transportation and Florida Highway Patrol staff were evacuated from their offices, and McKinley Drive was closed to traffic Wednesday night as police investigated.

During a preliminary search of the man’s vehicle, officers found two firearms, multiple high-capacity magazines and multiple containers of gasoline.

Police said the man was in his 60s and that his name will be released after his family is notified.

“This clearly had the potential for an even more tragic outcome,” Tampa police Chief Lee Bercaw said in a statement. “Detectives will be working to determine the motives that led to this person’s actions.”

Need help?

Contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988, visit suicidepreventionlifeline.org, or call the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay by dialing 2-1-1.