A 47-year-old Orlando man was shot and killed on Interstate 4 in Tampa while on the phone with 911 dispatchers about another driver threatening him with a gun, authorities said.
Fred William Turner Jr. was shot and killed Saturday afternoon while talking with 911 dispatchers about being followed by a driver with what he described as a semi-automatic weapon, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.
The gunman remained at large Sunday. The suspect's vehicle was described as a gray, newer-model Ford Taurus with tinted windows.
Deputies don't know what might have led to the shooting. Turner told the 911 dispatcher that he had done nothing to cause someone to follow him, authorities said.
Deputies also wouldn't identify the east Tampa store where Turner apparently had been when the suspect or suspects started following him.
Turner was in Tampa when he called 911 at 3 p.m. Saturday, reporting that he was being followed as he was driving, deputies said. He was in the area of North 50th Street and East Columbus Drive in Tampa and was getting on I-4, heading east toward Orlando.
He told the Tampa police that the driver had pulled up next to his vehicle and showed what appeared to be a semi-automatic weapon, authorities said.
While Turner was on the phone with 911 dispatchers, the dispatchers heard multiple gunshots. Turner then pulled off the roadway and the suspect vehicle fled the scene, deputies said. Turner died at the scene.
Eastbound I-4 was shut down for nearly eight hours as detectives walked the highway looking for evidence.
Deputies did not release the audio of the 911 calls on Sunday.
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McClatchy-Tribune News Service
