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Christopher Stamat: Florida man arrested for shooting homeless family and hitting pregnant mom in the head

Christopher Stamat Jr was first arrested by police for marijuana possession and later arrested again in connection with the shooting

Warning: This article contains a recollection of crime and can be triggering to some, readers' discretion advised

TAMPA, FLORIDA: Tampa police have arrested a man in an unprovoked shooting of a pregnant woman in the head as she slept in a car with four other members of her family, including three children. Police arrested Christopher Stamat Jr, 21, on Saturday, October 8 in connection with the shooting which took place on October 5, 4.30 am after authorities found an empty gun box for a 9mm handgun inside Stamat's car, alongside with shell casings that matched those at the shooting scene.

21-year-old Stamat was taken into custody and charged with six felonies, including attempted murder and four counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. When the cops enquired about the motive behind opening the fire. Stamat claimed that he felt people were "stalking and following him" in cars, on bikes, and walking. 

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Tampa Police Chief Mary O'Connor revealed how police arrested Stamat on Saturday for felony marijuana possession but was later released, she said in a news conference. Stamat was then re-arrested later that afternoon in connection with the shooting, O'Connor explained. Stamat allegedly opened fire on a homeless family of five, sleeping in the car, striking the pregnant woman in the head. According to Daily Mail, the pregnant woman did not suffer life-threatening injuries. The shooting occurred in a parking lot across from the Martin Luther King Jr Recreation Complex in the Old West Tampa neighborhood.

Police traced Stamat's BMW through surveillance footage from the scene and found it in the garage of his girlfriend's house, nearly three miles away from the scene. Police searched Stamat's car and home using a search warrant, after which they found an empty gun box for a 9mm handgun and empty shell casings matching those of the scene. O'Connor explained the handgun found was not the same gun Stamat allegedly used. The Chief reported, the door to his bedroom in which the shell casings were found requires fingerprint identification to open the door, "so there's no doubt that these shell casings belong to him," she said.

"Our community as a whole can sleep easier tonight knowing the suspect linked to this monstrous, random act of violence is no longer free to prey on innocent people," O'Connor said. "You take a gun, and you unload it on a family. We can't really sit back and try to figure out the 'why' on that. There's really zero tolerance for that kind of behavior." Stamat admitted he was the only one driving around the area of the crime. Stamat told authorities, he believed he was being stalked and followed, which his girlfriend also confirmed to police. Stamat is being held without bond and faces six felony charges for the attack, including four counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, one count of second-degree attempted murder, and one count of shooting into a vehicle. 

The family is said to have been living in a rental car because a relative did not have space for them. The father, 30, saw another car pull up and heard gunshots, he quickly asked his 20-year-old wife and three children, a nine-year-old girl, a four-year-old boy, and a three-year-old girl to dodge the bullet. The mother was struck in the head and was taken to the hospital, the woman has a bullet in her head, which the doctors won't remove because she is nine weeks pregnant. The children were uninjured and are believed to be living with their family members in Florida. The car was allegedly covered with clothes making it hard for any suspect to see inside. Stamat allegedly fired a couple of rounds of shots before fleeing. Police said there is currently no indication of any connection between Stamat and the victims.