Three motorcycle gang members pulled up to a rival motorcycle club member in a truck, shot and killed him, then drove off Thursday evening, Pasco County deputies say.

The shooting happened at the intersection of Suncoast Parkway and State Road 54 at about 5 p.m. Deputies said it was a targeted hit.

In a news conferece Friday, Sheriff Chris Nocco called the shooting a "brazen act of violence."

Surveillance video captured images of two gunmen, who pulled up alongside the truck at a red light. 

Witnesses told deputies that the motorcyclists opened fire, shot the man in the truck and then took off on their bikes. 

The victim, identified as Paul Anderson, 44, is the president of the Cross Bayou Chapter of the Outlaw Motorcycle Club in Pasco County.

Nocco said that the Outlaws have been feuding with the 69 Motorcycle Club. The three men involved in the shooting are members of the 69 Motorcycle Club.

Pasco deputies, with the help from Tampa Police; agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms; other agencies and tips from witnesses, arrested Michael Mencher, 51, Alan Guinto, 26, and Christopher Cosimano, 29, within 24-hours.

Nocco said the two men on the motorcycles were Cosimano and Mencher, and Cosimano shot Anderson. Mencher was there to finish the job if Cosimano didn't kill Anderson, Nocco said. Guinto was the driver of a scout vehicle, according to investigators.

Mencher allegedly pulled up alongside Anderson's truck and tapped on his window before Cosimano opened fire.  

He also said that all three men will face a charge of first-degree premeditated murder. 

But Sheriff Nocco said the fued is far from over.  

"I would hope and pray that there's not, but I believe there will be" retaliation-related violence, Nocco said, because investigators have information that there are people from motorcycle clubs coming down into the state of Florida.  

"We do not want a random person hurt. We do not want a random person killed. But we believe with these clubs, with the violence they've already demonstrated, with the homicide last night, we expect there will be more violence in the Tampa Bay region because of this incident," Nocco said. 

Nocco urged residents to report anything suspicious they may see to local law enforcement. 

"We do not want this war to escalate, if there is (one)," he said. "Our biggest fear is that a random person gets involved in this mess."

Pasco deputies are asking anyone with information who may be afraid to come forward to call their Crime Tips Line at 1-800-706-2488.


Deputies say 2 men on motorcycles pulled up to a vehicle, opened fire and shot the driver dead in a targeted shooting. (Pasco County Sheriff's Office)