TAMPA, Fla. — Tampa Police Chief Mary O'Connor says an arrest has been made after a man in his late 30s was found dead with a gunshot wound early Sunday morning.
At a news conference, O'Connor said 30-year-old Timothy McGovern was arrested and charged with first-degree murder.
Officers were dispatched around 1:57 a.m. to the underpass on West Hillsborough Avenue and North Dale Mabry Highway for the report of an unresponsive male.
O'Connor said shell casings gathered from Sunday's scene were run through the National Integrated Ballistics Information Network, or NIBIN, and were found to be connected to other shell casings gathered at another unrelated incident in Tampa.
That incident, police say, involved McGovern shooting his gun into the water off of Bayshore Boulevard four hours before the homicide happened. Police say witnesses reported McGovern approached them on his bike, said, "There's my target," and began firing into the water.
McGovern was then spotted by police riding his bike on Tuesday night, less than a mile from the scene of the homicide. McGovern allegedly told police after he was arrested that he was "testing the weapon." Police add that McGovern admitted to having previous encounters with the homicide victim, walking to the underpass on the night of the murder with the intent to kill the victim with the gun.
"I have no doubt that the detailed investigation completed by our detectives and their commitment to finding justice in this, and every case, stopped this person before he could take another life," O'Connor said in a news release.
Police say he also admitted to stabbing the same victim on July 4. The extent of how well the two knew each other is still under investigation.
Tampa police say they searched McGovern's home with a warrant Tuesday night, locating a handgun and a "litany of manifestos." Police say the contents of those manifestos are still under investigation.
According to O'Connor, McGovern served as a U.S. Marine from 2012 to 2014 before being dishonorably discharged over a narcotics arrest. She added he has a history of mental illness and was a suspect in a criminal mischief case.