A man drove a semi-truck into Emperors Gentleman Club in Tampa, Florida, early Tuesday (Pictures: REX/WFTS)
A man who was kicked out of a strip club allegedly inflicted revenge by driving his semi-truck cab into the establishment, killing one and injuring others.
The 25-year-old suspect was involved in a fight at Emperors Gentleman Club on Adamo Drive early Tuesday, stated the Tampa Police Department.
He ‘exited the club, got into a vehicle and waited, lied in wait until the individual he had an altercation with exited the club’, said police Major Patrick Messmer, according to FOX 13.
The unidentified suspect then allegedly drove his lorry into a group of people at the entrance.
‘Upon arrival, officers found the truck had crashed into the front area of the building that leads to the entrance,’ city officials told ABC News.
Tampa Police investigators leave the Emperors Gentleman Club on Tuesday (Picture: Douglas R Clifford/Tampa Bay Tim)
‘Witnesses reported the driver had just been kicked out of the club and then returned to drive the truck into a group of people standing at the entrance.’
Messmer said the semi-tractor ‘was intentionally rammed at a group of individuals’.
‘It was a chaotic scene,’ he added.
The suspect allegedly killed one man and hurt two other men who are expected to survive. All three were customers at the strip club. The man who got into the altercation with the suspect was not struck, police said.
A man wipes tears moments after arriving at the Emperors Gentleman Club (Picture: Douglas R Clifford/Tampa Bay Tim)
In the process of driving into the club at 4.19am, the suspect was critically injured and is in stable condition at a Florida hospital.
The suspect was arrested and has been charged with first-degree murder, attempted murder and DUI manslaughter.
At least a dozen people witnessed the crime.
A man drove the cab of a semi-truck into a strip club early Thursday (Picture: Douglas R Clifford/Tampa Bay Tim)
‘The fact that somebody has to lose their life over a minor altercation inside of a club, and now somebody else is facing the rest of their life in prison,’ Messmer said, ‘It’s very sobering and a very unfortunate incident.’
Police Chief Lee Bercaw said the agency ‘will work to get justice for the victims and their families’.
‘This is an unbelievably tragic and completely avoidable incident,’ he said.
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