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McKinley Drive closed down for death investigation, Tampa police say

Camila Gomez, Managing Editor
The intersection between Fowler Avenue and McKinley Drive was closed to traffic due to a death investigation. ORACLE PHOTO/JULIA SAAD

The intersection between Fowler Avenue and McKinley Drive was closed due to a death investigation late Wednesday afternoon, according to the Tampa Police Department (TPD).

A man shot himself after making a bomb threat in the parking lot of the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), located at 11201 McKinley Drive, according to TPD. 

Police said the unidentified man called the FDOT office from its parking lot just after 3:30 p.m. The man told police he had a bomb and made suicidal statements. 

The office is located in front of The Province, an off campus student housing apartment complex. It is about 0.3 miles away from campus. 

Tampa Police found the man in a blue vehicle in the parking lot. As officers approached the vehicle, the man held a gun to his head, police said.

Though officers attempted to talk to the man, he shot himself, according to police. 

Police said suspicious items including wires were observed in the car. 

The Tampa Police Bomb Team was dispatched to the scene.  

The FDOT office and Florida Highway Patrol were evacuated from their offices. 

Police did not say if the bomb threat was credible at the time of publication.

An alert reading “Police activity near McKinley and Fowler. Police still investigating. No threat to USF” flashed on screens at the Gibbons Alumni Center on the Tampa campus. ORACLE PHOTO/JULIA SAAD

Alerts were sent out to the USF community warning of police activity in the area both through text and flashing screens on campus. The first alert was sent out at 4:19 p.m. and continued until 7 p.m.

The alerts advised people to avoid McKinley Drive due to “active investigation” in the area. 

The last alerts also said there was no active threat to USF.

The scene is still active as the investigation continues as of Wednesday evening. 

Correction: A prior version of this story incorrectly stated the events occurred on Tuesday evening. 

Camila Gomez, Managing Editor

Camila Gomez is the editor in chief of The Oracle. She's a political science and mass communications double major. She started at The Oracle in fall 2022 as a correspondent and worked her way up to managing editor. She grew up in Nicaragua and has a strong desire to build community through her reporting. Reach her at oracleeditor@gmail.com.

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