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News That Son Shot 2, Killed Self Stuns Father

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By VALERIE KALFRIN | The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 29, 2008

Updated: 07/29/2008 05:33 pm

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• Scene At Sonic Drive-In
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  Cassandra Gorham

  From MySpace.com

TAMPA - Edgar Rodriguez last spoke to his son four years ago, after he left the family house saying, "I need to work things out, Dad."

"I said, 'If you need anything, you know where I live. I'm not going anywhere,'" recalled Rodriguez, 57, of Homestead.

This afternoon, Rodriguez learned from Tampa police and the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office that his son, Allen Rodriguez, 26, had fatally shot himself after shooting two workers at a Sonic Drive-In restaurant in South Tampa hours earlier.

Carhop Cassandra Gorham, 21, of Seffner, was shot under the arm, according to a witness. Police said she was being treated at Tampa General Hospital, where her condition was unavailable.

Another worker, Michael Stephens, 24, of Tampa, was treated at Tampa General Hospital and released.
Edgar Rodriguez said his son never struck him as the kind of person who would hurt himself or others.

"We always figured when he got his life straight, he'd be back," he said, in tears. "We don't know what happened to him."

Police were investigating what caused the shooting shortly before 1:40 a.m. at the eatery at 4411 W. Gandy Blvd. Police said Rodriguez had visited Gorham there before the restaurant closed at midnight and she had asked him to leave; he returned as the workers were leaving and opened fire.

Gorham's friend Jeremiah Tinsley, 31, planned to give Gorham a ride home from work when the shooting occurred. He said Rodriguez was a customer who kept asking Gorham for a date. He once brought her a rose and asked to go home with her, Tinsley said.

Gorham ended a long-term relationship recently and told him she wasn't interested, Tinsley said.

"For two weeks, he kept coming up to talk to her," Tinsley said. "She let him know from Day One, 'No, I just want to be your friend.'"

Standing outside a Seffner duplex where Gorham had been staying, Tinsley recalled how the gunman had stepped out of the darkened parking lot and pointed a gun at them.

"I could see straight down the barrel," said Tinsley, 31. "She was getting into my car, and he fired, like, five rounds."

Tinsley said he whirled through the parking lot and smashed his 1987 Buick LeSabre through construction barricades on Gandy Boulevard to seek help for his friend at a nearby convenience store. Gorham kept saying, "Jay, I been shot," he said.

"She was stunned," Tinsley said. "Her voice kept getting lower and lower."

Stephens was able to drive himself to a nearby 7-Eleven to call for help, police said. He could not be reached for comment today.

Hillsborough County deputies found Rodriguez fatally shot inside a car in the 9300 block of Adamo Drive about 4:15 a.m.

Annette Jandura, who identified herself as Gorham's aunt, said in an e-mail that she and her sons were arranging to visit Gorham.

"I am praying she will fully recover from such a senseless crime. Cassie is a beautiful young lady with so much ahead of her," she wrote.

Workers at the Sonic declined to speak to a reporter today. A corporate spokeswoman in Oklahoma City released a statement saying they would provide crisis counseling.

Gorham has a page on the social-networking site MySpace, where someone named Al Michael Rodriguez posted two messages. One has an image that reads, "Kiss Me I'm Delicious" and another has a rose and the words, "Love's always worth the risk."

Alluding to Gorham describing her mood as "smitten," Rodriguez wrote, "Just call me Mr. Smitten."

On Rodriguez's own MySpace page, a friend named Amanda wrote, "My troubled soul:( rest in peace. You were loved."

Valerie Kalfrin can be reached at (813) 259-7800 or vkalfrin@tampatrib.com.

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