ATF agent’s wife tells of seeing husband shot at Riverview bowling alley

TAMPA — The wife of a federal agent who was shot outside a Riverview bowling alley last week took the witness stand Thursday in a Tampa courtroom and described a seemingly unprovoked altercation by a group of young people who tried to pick fights with strangers.

Courtney Murray sat with her shoulders hunched, her hands clasped in front of her, as she recounted a Friday night family outing that turned tense as the kids harassed patrons outside the Alley at Southshore on Big Bend Road.

Her husband, Matthew Murray, is an agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives who was off duty that night. He was among several people who tried to intervene, telling the group he was a law enforcement officer.

“He was telling them just to go home,” she said. “He said ‘you guys just need to leave.’ He said ‘we have kids.’”

She heard someone reply: “I don’t give a f— about your kids.”

It was shortly thereafter that Matthew Murray was shot in the neck. He remains hospitalized in intensive care, partially paralyzed.

Christopher Demarcus Smith, 18, is accused of shooting Murray.

Hillsborough Circuit Judge Lisa Allen ordered the 18-year-old to be held in jail without bail while he awaits trial on charges that include attempted murder.

The judge made the preliminary ruling before a defense attorney could make any arguments. A public defender appointed to represent Smith tried to persuade the judge to reconsider, noting that Smith has never before been in trouble with the law and attends high school classes online.

But the judge’s ruling remained the same.

A crowd of federal agents, some wearing polo shirts that bore the ATF insignia, packed the small courtroom for the hourlong hearing.

On the witness stand, Murray said she and her husband went out with their two children for a family night at the bowling alley. They were there with friends, including their children’s baseball coaches, for a few hours. About 10:30 p.m., as the kids played in an arcade, they readied to leave.

Assistant State Attorney Kevin Riley played a series of surveillance videos taken from the bowling alley pausing at certain frames to ask for Murray to describe what was happening.

She pointed out a group of people – two young women and two young men. They stood in the crowd near the exit as she kept an eye on her children. She described one of the men as “super skinny,” wearing ripped jeans and walking with a noticeable limp. She identified him as Smith.

The group did not say anything to her or anyone with her, she said.

Later, as the family stepped outside to leave, they encountered the foursome. They were trying to pick fights with strangers, she said.

“My husband was trying to deescalate the situation,” she said. “It was like we walked into an ambush.”

She was asked specifically what Smith was doing.

“He was jumping around,” she said, “trying to fight.”

She said he didn’t seem to target anyone in particular. Her kids began to cry, she said. She moved to her car, eager to leave, as her husband and others tried to calm the group.

She went to her car, put her kids inside, then returned to where her husband stood. It was then that he got shot.

Hillsborough County sheriff’s Detective Keaton Bruce came to the hospital and found Agent Murray with a cast around his neck. Murray was still in critical condition and Bruce was unable to interview him about the shooting.

He obtained a statement from Murray’s wife and video footage of the shooting from the bowling alley. One bit of video, taken from a Tesla vehicle in the parking lot, captured images of Smith holding a gun in his right hand, the detective testified.

Through interviewing witnesses, he learned Smith’s name. He found him at a home in Riverview, where he lives with a woman described as his legal guardian. When the detective saw Smith, he noticed he walked with a limp, consistent with the description of the shooter.

After being read his rights, Smith agreed to be interviewed. He admitted that he’d shot Murray, the detective said. But he claimed it was in self defense. He spoke of being struck in the shoulder and seeing Murray on top of his friend, the detective said.

“Does the video corroborate that?” the prosecutor asked.

“No,” Bruce said, “it doesn’t.”

Smith told the detective he held the gun about a foot away from Murray when he fired. He said he didn’t aim at anything, the detective said. He claimed he “blacked out” and couldn’t remember what he did with the gun afterward.

The detective said video shows Smith clearly put the gun back in his waistband after firing.

Hillsborough State Attorney Suzy Lopez told reporters after the hearing that the gun Smith is believed to have used has not been located. She reiterated her office’s position that Smith needs to remain jailed.

“That was the only way that we could keep the community safe,” she said.

If he’s convicted as charged, Smith faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years in prison.