Florida man arrested in random shooting at homeless family; pregnant mother recovering, police say
A pregnant mother is “recovering” after suffering a gunshot wound to the head as she slept in her car with her family in Florida, the Tampa Police Department said Sunday.
Christopher Stamat Jr., 21, was arrested Saturday after he allegedly “unloaded” a handgun toward a BMW in Tampa on Oct. 5 in what officials described as a random attack, Police Chief Mary O’Connor said during a press conference.
“We had a homeless family of five, down on their luck, sleeping in their car, when they were apparently randomly targeted by a shooter,” O’Connor said Sunday.
Stamat faces six felony charges, including one count of second-degree attempted murder, one count of shooting into an occupied vehicle, and four counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
The pregnant woman, who has not been publicly identified, is “doing fine” and remained hospitalized Sunday, O’Connor said. Her children weren’t wounded in the shooting.
Police said a motive is currently unclear.
“We do know from his girlfriend that apparently he’s been displaying paranoia over the last couple weeks and thinks people are stalking him, so we’re not sure if that’s the motive here,” O’Connor said of the suspect.
