Video: Suspect points gun at Tampa officer before being shot

Bodycam footage shows suspect pointing gun at Tampa Police officer - YouTube screenshot (courtesy of FOX 13 Tampa)

‘Unarmed victim’? Bodycam footage shows suspect points gun at officer before being shot

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TAMPA, FL – Officials have released bodycam footage from an officer-involved shooting that occurred earlier in July involving a reportedly armed suspect confronted by a Tampa Police officer.

The suspect was said to have pointed a firearm at the officer before being fatally shot.

On July 4th, Tampa police Officer Bryan Velazquez was responding to a call about a fight going on at a Texaco gas station on N. 50th Street where one person was reportedly armed with a weapon.

When Officer Velazquez arrived at the gas station, he made contact with an employee that informed him about someone reportedly being armed with a weapon was just at the gas station and pointed the officer toward where the suspect was heading.

As Officer Velazquez walks out of the gas station convenience store, he spots the suspects, identified as John Reuben Turbe, Jr., which the officer can be heard telling the suspect to put the gun down.

After repeated orders for the suspect to drop the gun, a foot pursuit begins. Officer Velazquez catches up with the suspect, saying:

“Put it down man, put it down, I’m right here.”

Turbe then stops running and slows down to a walk, turning around and facing the officer and walking toward him. The suspect then lifts up the firearm and points it at Officer Velazquez, which the officer then opens fire on Turbe.

Video shows another officer on scene performing chest compressions on Turbe while awaiting EMS, however, the suspect was said to have later died at the hospital.

It’s currently unclear as to what led to the purported altercation at the Texaco gas station that involved Turbe. The officer-involved shooting is still under investigation, according to officials.

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In other recent reports regarding officer-involved shootings, officials in California recently released bodycam footage from the fatal shooting of Stockton Police Officer Jimmy Inn that occurred back in May. 

The unsettling footage shows the moments when the now-deceased suspect gave no warning before cracking open his front door and shooting the officer. 

We at Law Enforcement Today shared this report back in June. 

Here’s that previous report. 

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STOCKTON, CA – Police released bodycam footage showing a Stockton, California, police officer being fatally shot while responding to a domestic violence call on May 11.

Stockton Officer Jimmy Inn was dispatched to the reported domestic call and arrived at the home located in the 4400 block of La Cresta way just after 10 a.m.

Police received a call reporting a woman in the home was screaming, bloody, and wearing a ripped shirt. A 911 caller on tapes also released can be heard saying:

“Um, I think, I think, I think the man is going crazy over there. He’s been acting really strange the last couple of days.”

 As seen in the body camera footage, Inn knocks on the security door to the home and then stands off to the side. Officer Inn announced he was a police officer.

Seconds later, a voice from inside the residence, later identified as 30-year-old Stockton Officer Jimmy Inn , can be heard saying, “Hey police” before opening the door and immediately shooting Inn multiple times.

Officer Pancho Freer arrived on scene just as the shooting occurred and observed Lowe standing over Officer Inn. Lowe and Officer Freer exchanged gunfire. The body camera showed Lowe firing at Freer before Freer returned fire. Lowe then retreated back into the house.

Freer can be heard screaming into his radio:

“Shots fired! My partner is down.”

He can also be heard on tape yelling, “Jimmy, stay with me! Jimmy!”

Body camera video and a bystander’s cellphone video shows Lowe walking back out of the house using his 8-year-old son as a shield, holding him by the neck and strangling the boy.

“Let the kid go, man. I don’t want to kill you,” Freer can be heard pleading as bystanders can be heard screaming as the eight-year-old struggles to get free.

The boy could be seen kicking and struggling until an unidentified bystander rushed to the boy’s aid, tackling the suspect.

Lowe was then shot by Officer Freer.

Medics transported Lowe and Officer Inn to a local hospital, where both men died.

The child was treated at a local hospital and is expected to recover.

Officer Inn, 30, is survived by his wife, who is also a Stockton police officer, as well as a 7-month old son, 12-year-old stepdaughter and a 14-year-old stepson.

Court records show that Lowe had previously been arrested and was on parole at the time of the shooting.

He was arrested on February 5, 2017, in Los Angeles for grand theft auto with a firearm, conspiring to commit a crime, child endangerment, possession of an assault weapon, and carrying a loaded firearm in a car or public place.

All the charges except the grand theft charge were eventually dismissed, according to the Los Angeles Times.

In 2018, Lowe was sentenced to five years in prison but was released early on April 2020 on supervised parole, according to California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation spokeswoman Dana Simas. She explained that Lowe was awarded credit for more than a year of time served prior to his sentencing:

“He was released to parole supervision in April 2020 after serving his full sentence as defined by law.”

Police Chief Eric Jones called the death of Officer Inn a “violent, blatant, and very sudden assault”:

“Officer Jimmy Inn was responding to a domestic violence report, to assist a domestic violence victim, and he died protecting those who cannot protect themselves. He gave the ultimate sacrifice, knowing this was a dangerous job.

“(Inn was the) epitome of what a Stockton police officer should be.”

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Bodycam footage was also released in June regarding the mass shooting that occurred in San Jose, California back in late May. 

Here’s that previous report. 

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SAN JOSE, CA – The Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office recently released bodycam footage from the May 26th shooting that occurred at the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority that saw nine victims killed. 

According to authorities, 57-year-old VTA employee Samuel Cassidy arrived at the VTA site, going between two buildings and killings his co-workers. 

Cassidy was reportedly armed with two semiautomatic handguns and was also carrying 11 loaded magazines.

The suspect had killed nine of his co-workers, later identified as: 

  • Lars Kepler Lane
  • Abdolvahab Alaghmandan
  • Michael Rudometkin
  • Timothy Romo
  • Jose Dejesus Hernandez
  • Adrian Balleza
  • Taptejdeep Singh
  • Paul Delacruz Megia
  • Alex Ward Fritch

On June 1st, the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office released four minutes of bodycam footage that showcased sheriff’s deputies as well as San Jose Police entering the VTA building where they’d later discover Cassidy. 

Video shows the team making their way up flights of stairs around the building exterior, making their way into the third floor of the building.

A VTA supervisor had reportedly given the team a key card so as to be able to pass through interior doors inside of the building. 

As officers were clearing one of the rooms, a series of gunshots could be heard. 

Once the gunshots went off, an officer moved over to a doorway and peered through the glass, noting that he sees a subject that is down. 

The team opens the door, with one officer yelling:

“Let me see your hands!”

While blurred in the video, a man can be seen slumped over in a chair, with officials saying there was a gun in his hands. The man, later identified as Cassidy, had shot himself under the chin and moved the gun to the side of his head. 

Officials are uncertain as to whether Cassidy knew that law enforcement was closing in on him before killing himself, but it’s highly likely that he heard the team communicating with each other as they were getting closer to where he was holed up inside of the building. 

Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith commended the work of the contact team that entered the building that day, remarking that they “hardly spoke a word to each other,” while inside of the building because “they knew what their job was.”

Sheriff Smith said that the work of those law enforcement officers likely saved a lot of lives that day:

“There were over 100 VTA employees on site that morning, and I believe the bravery of all of law enforcement personnel really prevented the loss of additional life.”

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About The Author

Gregory Hoyt is an I.T. Marketing and Sales professional based out in Sierra Vista, Arizona. While being a staunch and outspoken advocate of law enforcement and first responders, Gregory Hoyt also has the experience of having spent nearly 5 years in prison as well. Since then, he's used his unique perspective to offer support and commentary about the criminal justice system. When not working or combating bad ideas, Hoyt also leisurely studies economics, history, and law.

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