TAMPA, Fla. — Tampa Police have identified the armed suspect killed in a shootout with officers Monday evening as 33-year-old Michael A. Bresnahan.
The department said he led police on a pursuit after stabbing the mother of his children multiple times.
TPD said evidence indicates gun shots were fired from Bresnahan’s car right after he crashed into another vehicle on N. Florida Ave. and 18 officers fired their weapons in response. While police are still waiting on final autopsy results, the agency said it appears he died of a self-inflicted gun shot.
Chief Lee Bercaw told reporters Monday night it was believed Bresnahan stole an AK-47 from his brother’s home.
Tuesday evening, bullet holes could be seen scarring a business and church near the site of that shooting.
“There’s a hole here. There’s one here, and you can see where some of the other stuff peppered the blinds back here,” said Sean Segel, owner of the S&W Process Service.
Segel said it was around 6 p.m. on Monday when he heard sirens coming down Florida Avenue.
“Which is not unusual,” Segel said. “Then I heard the tires sliding and two large bangs, and I could feel the vibration in the house.”
Segel told Spectrum Bay News 9 he came outside to see what was going on, and that’s when the gunshots started. He took cover inside.
“There were so many guns going off, it just sounded like a chainsaw going off,” Segel said.
He pointed out broken pottery inside his business, which he said was a remnant of the gun battle that he thinks lasted just moments.
“I would say ten to 15 seconds, but probably felt like 15 minutes,” Segel said.
Next door, they found bullet holes in the door of a church. Ralph Cabrera said he was inside in a bathroom when he heard the shots.
“And then I felt something, and I said, ‘Oh, my God — I got shot!’” Cabrera said.
He pointed out abrasions on his head where he said he thinks something grazed him. Cabrera said he’s glad the outcome wasn’t worse.
“I got God on my side,” he said.
TPD said Bresnahan stabbed the mother of his children 13 times. The hospital listed her in stable condition Tuesday night.
“Our hopes are for a full and rapid recovery for the victim who has survived such an unimaginable trauma,” Bercaw said in a statement. “Our Victims Advocate will be working tirelessly to ensure that this woman and her children are connected with the resources they may need to recover from this life-altering event.”
Police released aviation and body worn camera footage of the incident.
The department said FDLE is investigating the shooting, and the officers involved are on paid administrative leave, both of which are standard procedure.
