Report: Gunman tried to kill more

Documents show that the chaotic scene at the Radisson Bay Harbor Hotel in December could have been much worse.

By GRAHAM BRINK

© St. Petersburg Times, published February 9, 2000

TAMPA -- Several times, Silvio Izquierdo-Leyva held his guns to the foreheads of people trying to flee his shooting rampage, witnesses said.

At least twice, he pulled the trigger, but the gun did not fire. One time, he just laughed and walked away.

While five people ultimately were killed, more than 508 pages of investigative documents released Tuesday by the Hillsborough County State Attorney's Office indicate that the chaotic and grim scene could have been much worse.

Guests and employees at the Radisson Bay Harbor Hotel on the Courtney Campbell Parkway scattered when the first shots rang out in the afternoon of Dec. 30.

Several huddled behind beds in locked rooms. Others ran for the exits. Some thought it was a drill. One man buried himself in luggage and heard Izquierdo's footsteps as he passed by.

Another housekeeper, hiding in the laundry room, said Izquierdo, a man she had never spoken to before, pointed a gun at her but didn't fire.

In Spanish, he said, "I am going to forgive you, but get lost."

The 36-year-old Cuban refugee is accused of killing four co-workers and injuring three others before fleeing in a stolen car, police said. Izquierdo abandoned the car in West Tampa, where he killed a woman after a struggle over her car, police said.

He has pleaded not guilty to 20 separate counts ranging from first-degree murder to carjacking. If convicted, he faces a possible death sentence.

The reports outlined in graphic detail nearly every step of what happened at the hotel and during the failed getaway. Who was shot first. The way he held the gun. How those close by hid and even what they were thinking. They included details of what Izquierdo was wearing and the lottery tickets detectives found in his pockets.

But the stack of reports left unanswered one nagging question.

Why?

Most of Izquierdo's co-workers say he was his normal quiet and content self as he went about his usual routine of cleaning the rooms and even offered to help one housekeeper fill her cart with supplies. He did not seem like a man about to snap, they said, not someone ready to kill five people.

While he may not have portrayed any outward signs that day, his brother described a man on the verge of blowing. Pedro Izquierdo said his brother was "unbalanced" and mentally ill, conditions aggravated by a misguided interest in Santeria, a religion rooted in Africa with gods, spirits and sacrifices. He was ready to snap and the Radisson was where it happened, the brother said.

Others weren't so sure.

A few witnesses said he might have had a grudge against his employer or his fellow employees.

At one point during the rampage, Izquierdo beat and kicked on the locked door of his supervisor's office, as the supervisor and another employee hid inside. A few minutes later, Izquierdo went around back and kicked on the office's sliding glass door. Izquierdo, who apparently did not realize the door was unlocked, did not get in.

A few employees, including at least one who was killed, had complained about Izquierdo's work habits in the month since he joined the staff. Izquierdo failed to take out the garbage one night and was not good at restocking his cart, among other things. The supervisor, however, said he had not talked with Izquierdo and had not heard of any major problems.

Izquierdo appeared to target only people who worked at the hotel, leaving the guests alone, they told detectives. A woman staying at the hotel said Izquierdo came up from behind her during the rampage with a gun in hand. All he said was, "Don't worry," and then moved on without shooting.

Izquierdo left the hotel in a stolen car and drove along Columbus Avenue. He shot a woman after trying to get her car. After the struggle, he stole another car, thanking the man as he left, witnesses said. He returned home to Green Street where a relative said she saw him next to a sink with the water running. He asked where the rest of the family was before walking out the front door and driving away in the stolen station wagon.

An officer in a patrol car saw Izquierdo in the station wagon near MacDill Avenue and Spruce Street. When the two cars came door to door, the officer pulled his gun out and yelled at Izquierdo to get out, the reports said.

"I give up. I give up," Izquierdo yelled.

Once in custody, the reports paint a picture of an agitated suspect who paced in his cell. He complained of being thirsty and tired. He said he had tried to get psychological help in the past but did not have the money to pay. He asked for a lawyer before detectives could ask him about his role in the rampage.

"God will judge me," he said.

© St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved.