Authorities from the University of South Florida have been warning students to be on alert. There have been a series of overnight home invasions. Apparently there were sexual assaults that actually occurred near the University of South Florida campus.
Officers in Tampa believe that at least two individual women were sexually assaulted and battered. The sex crimes occurred in the same apartment complex on Thursday September 5. Presumably these crimes occurred late in the evening.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff's office allowed some deputies to speak. According to their testimony, an armed gunman bound four men with duct tape in the apartment complex. The gunman then felt that there was nothing stopping him from committing further crimes in the complex.
As a result he then sexually abused the two women. Another woman actually reported a similar instance in a nearby complex. She claims that a man entered her home and then left. Tampa police officers later reported that there was a similar incident not far away.
Investigators are apparently wondering if these crimes are in some way connected with one another. Apparently, deputies say that the first gunman originally confronted 25 people who were attending a party. At gunpoint he forced all of the attendees into a nearby bedroom. Reports claim that he fired at least one round of ammunition into the carpet.
When he fled, the suspect followed a man to his apartment. He then squeezed off a few rounds at his door before he completely fled the area. There is a chance that all of these incidents are related. Whether there is only one single suspect or multiple suspects involved, however, remains to be seen.
Nevertheless, investigators are attempting to collect further evidence so that they can apprehend whoever is behind it and put together a case. These sorts of crimes can carry multiple charges with them. There are aspects that could be considered part of an attempted violent crime, though the suspect or suspects in question are naturally also looking at charges involving a sex crime considering the alleged assault of the female victims.