Silent gunman shoots man in front of girl

Police don't know why because the masked assailants said nothing during the attack in Old Carrollwood.

By SHANNON COLAVECCHIO-VAN SICKLER
Published May 5, 2005

OLD CARROLLWOOD - Every morning like clockwork, Robert Dammers and his teenage daughter walk out of their home near Lake Carroll and settle into Dammers' silver Toyota Avalon for the 10-mile ride to Tampa Bay Tech High School, where Elizabeth attends classes.

But Wednesday, a masked man shot Dammers before he ever made it out of his driveway.

Hillsborough sheriff's investigators say the shooter didn't say a word before he and a masked accomplice riding a bicycle fled from the home at 10129 White Trout Lane.

"This wasn't the result of a robbery," said sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter. "The men didn't say anything. They didn't demand his car keys. They just shot him and left."

Dammers, director of a ship brokerage business in Tampa, told detectives he could not see the assailants' faces. And because of their long-sleeved clothes, he could not determine their races or ages, Carter said.

Dammers, 53, told investigators he was standing next to his Toyota at 6:30 a.m. when a man in dark clothing walked up to the driver's side of the car. The second man, wearing dark clothes and a mask and riding a bicycle, waited behind the Toyota, Carter said.

Dammers' daughter Elizabeth, standing at the back of the family's garage, watched in disbelief as the man next to the driver's side door pulled a handgun and fired a single shot into her father's groin.

Neither assailant said anything during the attack, Dammers later told detectives. The men immediately took off, according to Dammers' wife, Anne.

Elizabeth called 911, then used a towel to apply pressure to her father's bleeding wound, Anne Dammers said.

Elizabeth, 15, persuaded him to wait for rescue workers rather than try to drive himself to St. Joseph's Hospital, where he remained Wednesday night.

"He's out of surgery now, and he's going to be fine," said Anne Dammers, a nurse. "I think this is an isolated thing, but it just hasn't sunken in yet."

Deputies in helicopters and deputies with police dogs searched the well-manicured neighborhood of quarter-million and half-million dollar homes Wednesday morning, but they did not find the assailants.

Carter said investigators initially thought the assailants demanded that Dammers turn over his car keys, then fired the gun. But detectives ruled out robbery as a motive when they learned from Dammers that the suspects never asked for anything.

Dammers' neighbors say they have never experienced such a blatant, seemingly random attack in their Old Carrollwood neighborhood, much less on their street.

White Trout Lane sits between two small lakes and ends in a cul-de-sac. The homes sit on large, well-landscaped lots. Property records show their market values range from about $200,000 to more than $800,000.

Statistics show the area - between Busch Boulevard and Fletcher Avenue, with Dale Mabry Highway to the west and Armenia Avenue to the east - has fewer cases of burglary, drugs and assault than many Hillsborough neighborhoods.

Last year, the area saw no murders, eight robberies, 21 assaults, 50 burglaries, 63 car thefts and 25 drug arrests, according to the Sheriff's Office.

"You wouldn't expect anything like this here," said Robert Anderson, who lives a few houses down from Dammers. "We've never had any trouble here."

Anderson said he was on his lanai Wednesday morning with his papillon dog when he heard the gunshot.

"I heard someone scream "No! No! No!"'

Within minutes, he saw sheriff's patrol cars in front of Dammers' home.

Robert and Anne Dammers are directors for East Shipbrokers Inc., a 14-year-old ship brokerage based in Tampa, according to state corporations records.

They bought their 3,800-square-foot home in 1988. Its current market value is $256,000, according to the Hillsborough County property appraiser.

Anne Dammers said that since moving in, she has never worried about her family's safety.

"It was a quiet neighborhood until this morning," she said.

Staff researchers Kitty Bennett and Cathy Wos contributed to this report. Shannon Colavecchio-Van Sickler can be reached at 813 226-3373 or svansickler@sptimes.com

[Last modified May 5, 2005, 01:46:57]