Early Saturday morning, a Clearwater apartment complex became the scene of a deadly encounter when a tenant fatally shot an intruder, police report. The Clearwater Police Department responded to the incident at the Granada Apartments on Kings Highway at approximately 5:30 a.m. Upon their arrival, officers found 36-year-old Rudolfo Espinoza deceased inside the apartment, the details of which were reported by WFLA.
Facing an armed threat, the 45-year-old resident took action by grabbing a gun, police say, and shot Espinoza. In a tense situation that involved forceful entry and an armed confrontation, it was not immediately clear if the resident knew the intruder or not. According to FOX 13 News, there is no current information about a possible connection between Espinoza and the tenant.
The Clearwater Police Department has been actively working on the case, having located and obtained cooperation from all the individuals connected to the incident. This was further shared by Tampa Free Press, stating that homicide detectives are proceeding with their investigation following preliminary findings. The act is reportedly being classified as self-defense, given the circumstances in which the resident found himself…