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Where'd They Get Their Guns?

An Analysis of the Firearms Used in High-Profile Shootings, 1963 to 2001

Date: December 30, 1999

Location: Radisson Bay Harbor Inn, Tampa, Florida

Alleged Shooter: Silvio Leyva

People Killed: Five

People Injured: Three

Firearm(s): Lorcin 9mm pistol and a Charter Arms .38 revolver


Circumstances

Leyva, an employee of the hotel, allegedly walked up to the front entrance and opened fire. Two people were shot outside the entrance, two in the lobby, one in a hallway, one by the pool, and one in the restaurant. Four of them died. Another woman was killed when Leyva allegedly tried to steal her car. There was no apparent motive.


How Firearm(s) Acquired

The Lorcin was purchased legally from Big E's, a gun dealer at Tampa's Floriland Flea Market. Leyva also carried a .38 Charter Arms revolver, however, it is unknown how Leyva acquired this firearm.

 
  1. Adam C. Smith, "Common, Legal Weapons Used in Hotel Slayings" St. Petersburg Times, 1 January 2000, sec. B, p. 1.
  2. "Five Die as Hotel Gunman Opens Fire," Birmingham Post, 31 December 1999, p. 10.
  3. "Tampa Hotel Shootings Claim Five Lives," Sun-Sentinel, 31 December 1999, sec. A, p. 1.
  4. "Gunman Kills Five in Florida; Four Victims Worked With Suspect at Hotel," The Dallas Morning News, 31 December 1999, sec. A, p. 3.

 

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 All contents � 2001 Violence Policy Center

 


The Violence Policy Center is a national non-profit educational foundation that conducts research on violence in America and works to develop violence-reduction policies and proposals. The Center examines the role of firearms in America, conducts research on firearms violence, and explores new ways to decrease firearm-related death and injury.