The woman was shot while sitting in the back seat of a nearby car with two grandchildren.

TAMPA – A teenager was charged Friday (Sept. 16) in the shooting death of a woman who was struck by a stray bullet while sitting in the back of a car, the Tampa Police Department said.

Maria Rivera-Contreras, 57, died at a hospital on June 23, police said.

Tyrell Rashard Warren, 19, of 714 Floribraska Ave. in Tampa, was charged with second degree murder with a firearm and felon in possession of a firearm, officers said.

The incident happened about 9:45 p.m. June 23 in the 400 block of E Columbus Drive. Police said someone had called to report gunfire. When they arrived, officers found a large crowd gathered in the parking lot of the Central Court Apts. and began interviews to determine who might have been firing guns.

Police later discovered that, about the same time gunfire had been reported, Mrs. Rivera-Contreras had been driven to the hospital by her brother, Victor Rivera. She had suffered a single gunshot
wound to the head. Mrs. Rivera-Contreras was in a car with family members after delivering food to a friend. As the car was backing out of the driveway on to Columbus Drive, Mrs. Rivera-Contreras was struck by a stray bullet as she sat in the backseat with her 9-year-old nephew and 16-year-old niece. She suffered the fatal wound when the car was roughly 90 feet away from the reported gunfire.

Subsequent investigation showed that there had been an ongoing feud between two young men, one of them known as “B.B.” Witnesses told police that one of the men involved in the feud was riding his bike westbound on Columbus Drive after being told that someone was shooting at him, police said. The man known as B.B. was on the north side of Columbus Drive, and a witness later told police they saw a man fitting B.B.’s description firing a gun in a westbound direction across Columbus.

Police said they determined that B.B. was Warren. The shot he fired across Columbus Drive struck Mrs. Rivera-Contreras, police said.

For information about the Tampa Police Department, go to tampagov.net.

Tampa Police | Teen Arrested | Stray Bullet Shooting | Arrests | TB Reporter

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