TAMPA, Fla. – A Tampa man was arrested following a shooting last week after he proposed to date his own daughter, according to the police department.
In a release, police said they responded to the shooting at a home along 23rd Street around 12:43 p.m. on Jan. 17.
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Upon arrival, they found two female victims who had left the home after being shot, the release shows.
A criminal report says that one of the women was the mother of the shooting suspect — identified as 42-year-old Michael Banks — and the other was Banks’ daughter.
Both told police that Banks was still inside the home, and police began establishing a perimeter around the home, the report states.
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Police explained that Banks then shot two rounds at an officer, forcing officers to return fire, though Banks eventually surrendered and was taken into custody.
However, officers found another woman — the mother’s friend — dead inside the home, having suffered a gunshot wound to her head, the release says. No officers were injured in the shootout.
Investigators said they discovered that Banks had written a letter to his daughter, insisting that “she enter into a relationship with him and not date anyone else.”
As a result, Banks’ mother and her friend had discussed forcing Banks to move out of the home, police added.
Banks told detectives that he had overheard their conversation, causing him to feel “betrayed and upset,” the report reads.
Because of this, Banks said he grabbed a revolver from his room and began shooting at the pair, attempting to kill them both, detectives explained.
Banks also admitted to shooting through the bathroom door and striking his daughter, who was taking a shower when the first shots rang out, police said.
According to court records, Banks has previously been convicted of simple battery and aggravated battery of a pregnant woman.
In last week’s shooting, he faces charges of firearm possession, first-degree murder, attempted murder of an officer, and two counts of attempted first-degree murder with great bodily harm.
He is held with no bond.
“Our thoughts are with the family of the woman who is deceased and those injured in today’s tragedy,” Police Chief Lee Bercaw said on the day of the shooting. “In every case, our officers run towards the danger, and fortunately, today none of the brave officers were injured. It’s calls like these that are stark reminders of the dangers affiliated with this profession.”
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