Hillsborough County detectives identify man who shot child at gas stop, authorities say
Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office detectives identified the suspect accused of shooting and hospitalizing a child Saturday morning.
Jontavius Laquan Shaeron Monroe, 33, is charged with aggravated battery, attempted first-degree murder, discharging a firearm from a vehicle, shooting into a vehicle and the possession of a firearm by a felon, according to detectives.
Around 10 a.m. Saturday, Monroe got in a verbal argument with another customer at a CITGO gas station, located east of Tampa at 12020 E. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., detectives said. After the argument, Monroe pursued the customer out of the gas stop by car. As the two drove north on Pine Street, Monroe inched beside them and fired a gun into the car — hitting a child’s leg.
The child was rushed to the hospital with a non-life-threatening injury, detectives said. Monroe, an eight-time convicted felon, is on probation until Sept. 2025.
Monroe has served time in a Leon County prison for possession of a firearm by a felon and shooting or throwing a missile at a vehicle or building.
If you have any information regarding his location, contact the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office at 813-247-8200.
This story was originally published November 7, 2021 at 6:58 PM.