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Armed suspect on the run after multiple carjackings across Tampa Bay

The suspect is believed to still be in the green Ford F150 and he was last seen heading southbound on Thonotosassa Road in Plant City.

Police from several agencies are looking for a suspect wanted for carjackings in multiple counties this morning in Tampa Bay. In one case, shots were fired.

Officials believe the suspect came out of Orange County in a stolen 2009 Cadillac. The first incident happened at 300 Kirkman Rd. in Orlando.

Polk County deputies spotted the suspect on I-4 heading towards Hillsborough County and followed him, according to a news conference held by the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office Wednesday afternoon.

He abandoned the stolen Cadillac on westbound I-4 just west of Thonotosassa Rd. in Hillsborough County.

The suspect then ran into a neighborhood where he stole a second vehicle, a green 2002 Ford pick-up truck with Florida tag # 9379TJ.

The owner of the truck, Jorge Ballin, followed the suspect in another red truck to a Marathon gas station at Thonotosassa Rd. and I-4. Ballin and the suspect got into a confrontation and the suspect fired a gun three times. The truck owner was not injured, but the shots hit the red truck.

“I pulled right in front of him, and he pulled out a gun and started shooting,” Ballin said.

The suspect is believed to still be in the green Ford F150 and he was last seen heading southbound on Thonotosassa Road in Plant City.

“He's obviously shown that he has the intention of using that firearm and it's just by the grace of God that this guy wasn't shot,” Larry McKinnon with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said, “He could've easily shot and killed this victim and it was all over a vehicle,” McKinnon said.

The man police are looking for is African-American, standing around 6 feet tall and appearing to be between 30 to 40 years old. He looks like he weighs around 240 pounds. He has shortly-cropped hair or is bald and was wearing a green shirt and blue jeans. He could be armed and is considered dangerous, so do not approach.

Anyone with further information on the suspect or sees a person fitting that description in a green Ford F150 is asked to contact the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office at (813) 247-8200, or dial 911.

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