TAMPA, Fla. — Deputies believe the incidents are related because of where they occurred and “other factors.”
A man covered in blood who made his way into a convenience store Sunday evening set off an investigation into an apparent double stabbing that left one man dead, authorities said.
It began around 7:30 p.m. at the 7-Eleven at 4001 Waters Ave., northwest of the Egypt Lake neighborhood.
The 19-year-old man who entered the store had been stabbed several times, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.
The man, whose name has not been released, was taken to St. Joseph’s Hospital, where the Sheriff’s Office later said he was considered to be stable.
About an hour after the man came into the convenience store, an anonymous caller told authorities that there was another man nearby who was unconscious.
Paramedics found that man in a drainage ditch near a retail center at Waters and Lois avenues, a few blocks from the 7-Eleven.
He also had been stabbed several times, the Sheriff’s Office said. Paramedics tried to revive him but he died.
The Sheriff’s Office identified him as Ovidio Sanchez, 45, of Tampa.
State records show that Sanchez had been arrested June 5 on a felony charge of armed robbery and a misdemeanor charge of marijuana possession. He was taken into custody at that time near the same 7-Eleven store, arrest records show.
Detectives believe the stabbings of the two men are related because of their proximity and what a sheriff’s spokeswoman called “other factors.”
They continued to investigate Monday and asked that anyone with information about the incidents call the Sheriff’s Office at (813) 247-8200.
Times staff writer Robbyn Mitchell and news researcher Natalie Watson contributed to this report.
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