A man armed with a gun robbed a Family Dollar in East Tampa on August 30, and five days later police are asking the public to help identify him. The suspect is described as a tall Black man weighing about 250 pounds, his face partially covered as he demanded money from an employee before running north away from the store.
Surveillance Video Shows Suspect Fleeing North
The Tampa Police Department released surveillance footage of the robbery on Friday, hoping someone will recognize the suspect's build, clothing or mannerisms, according to Tampa Bay 28. Officers responded to the Family Dollar at 4900 N. 40th St. after the gunman demanded cash from a store employee at gunpoint. The station reports the suspect was wearing a black hoodie, blue pants and black slides, and that no injuries were reported during the encounter. The gap between the robbery and Friday's public appeal is typical, according to Tampa Free Press, as investigators usually spend days analyzing footage and interviewing witnesses before releasing video to the public.
The investigation remains active, per the same account, and anyone with information is asked to call Tampa police at 813-231-6130 and reference police report number 26-516424. Tipsters who prefer to stay anonymous can also reach out to Crime Stoppers of Tampa Bay, which offers cash rewards of up to $3,000 or $5,000 for information leading to a suspect's identification and arrest, according to Crime Stoppers of Tampa Bay. Under Florida law, robbery committed with a firearm or deadly weapon is a first-degree felony punishable by up to life in prison, per the Florida Senate.
A Store With a Violent History
This is not the first time the Family Dollar at 4900 N. 40th St. has been targeted. In July 2013, 49-year-old store manager Horsley Shorter Jr., a 20-year Army veteran, was fatally shot at the same location while attempting to protect a co-worker during an armed robbery, according to the Tampa Bay Times. Shorter was posthumously praised as a hero after intervening during what began as a Sunday morning holdup.
The store was hit again in September 2017, when it was targeted in two separate armed robberies within a three-day span, with armed men demanding register cash, as reported by Patch. In one of those 2017 incidents, an armed suspect forced clerks to fill a shopping bag with money from the register before fleeing. The store, registered as location #25550, operates daily from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., serving as a low-cost retail option in the 33610 ZIP code, according to Family Dollar's own store listing.
Crime Trends Show a Mixed Picture in Tampa
The latest robbery arrives amid conflicting signals about violent crime in the Tampa area. Mid-year 2025 statistics released by the Tampa Police Department showed a 19% drop in overall violent crime and a 63% decrease in homicides compared to the same period in 2024, with the department crediting data-driven policing and community partnerships. Hillsborough County saw similar declines, with the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office reporting that firearm-related violent crime fell 10.55% and overall violent crime dropped 13.85% in 2025 compared to the prior year, marking the fourth consecutive year of falling crime countywide.
But preliminary data reviewed by Axios in August found that Tampa saw an uptick in homicides during the first half of 2026, bucking downward trends seen in most major U.S. cities, based on data compiled from the Major Cities Chiefs Association. The discount retail sector has also faced its own turmoil: between July 2025 and May 2026, Family Dollar closed more than 350 stores nationwide as part of a multi-year restructuring following its acquisition by private equity firms Brigade Capital and Macellum Capital, according to El Cronista, a downsizing that followed earlier plans by former parent company Dollar Tree to shutter nearly 1,000 underperforming locations.
For now, the man seen fleeing north from the East Tampa store remains unidentified, and detectives are relying on the public to fill in the gaps left by the surveillance footage.
