Men Posing As Cops Fired Shots Into Valrico Homes

VALRICO, FL — The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office has released surveillance photos of a vehicle that may have been involved with two early Friday morning shootings reported in the Valrico area.

According to the sheriff’s office, the first shooting was reported around 3:30 a.m. March 24 when two men knocked on a door in the 1100 block of Mallory Point Drive. The men, who had their faces covered and were wearing hoodies, claimed they were police officers, a March 27 email from the sheriff’s office said.

The woman inside the home saw the men and advised she was going to call the police herself, the email noted. The men turned and walked away, but fired “multiple gunshots at the house with one round passing through the front window,” the email said.

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The men then took off in a dark four-door vehicle. No one inside the home was injured.

Deputies say a similar incident took place a few minutes later in the 1300 block of Big Pine Drive. Again, no one inside the home was injured.

“Detectives believe these incidents are related and are not random acts,” the email said.

Descriptions of the men wanted in the shootings are not readily available.

Anyone with information about the suspects or the shootings is asked to call the sheriff’s office at 813-247-8200. Tips may also be submitted via Crime Stoppers by calling 800-873-TIPS or by going online to www.crimestopperstb.com.

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Photos courtesy of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office