A Florida man is in custody after being accused of his involvement in a fatal triple shooting.
News 6 reported that Tampa 42-year-old Michael Banks was the shooting suspect of a local home around 12:43 p.m. on Jan. 17. The criminal report showed two female victims left the house after being shot. One of the women was Banks’s mother, and the other was Banks’s daughter. Both victims told officers Banks was still in the home when they arrived, and a perimeter was found around the house. Police said Banks shot two rounds at an officer, to which the officers returned shots before Banks surrendered and was taken into custody.
Officers did find another woman inside the home. The woman was the mother’s friend, and she was found dead. She suffered a gunshot wound to her head, according to the press release. No officers were injured in the shootout.
Investigators said they discovered Banks wrote a letter to his daughter and told her to date him “and not date anyone else.”
When his mother found the note, she and her friend discussed forcing him out of the house. Banks told detectives he overheard the conversation and felt “betrayed and upset.” As a result, he picked up a revolver from his room and began shooting at them, attempting to kill them both, detectives explained.
Banks also admitted to shooting through the bathroom door and striking his daughter, who was taking a shower when the first shot was in the air, police said.
He has been previously convicted of simple battery and aggravated battery of a pregnant woman. He faces charges of firearm possession, first-degree murder, attempted murder of an officer, and two counts of attempted first-degree murder with great bodily harm.
He is being held with no bond.
