Air Force Tech. Sgt. Richard Padilla directs airmen during a training exercise at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, in January 2023. Padilla was killed Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025, in a hit-and-run incident near MacDill Air Force Base in Florida. (Patrick Sullivan/U.S. Air Force)
An Air Force special operator was killed Sunday in a hit-and-run incident near MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla., by a felon who struck at least three other pedestrians with his car, according to service and law enforcement officials.
Tech. Sgt. Richard Padilla, a security forces craftsman with the 24th Rapid Deployment Squadron of the 24th Special Operations Wing, died when he was struck by the vehicle while walking along Interbay Blvd., about 1 mile from MacDill, the Air Force said Wednesday. The man who struck Padilla, Jeremiah Bailey, was shot to death later Sunday by police officers after a pursuit on Interstate 275, according to a Tampa police statement.
Padilla, 37, was a longtime security forces airmen who had expertise in performing base security in austere and challenging locations and helping establish new “fully functional” bases in undeveloped locations, according to a GoFundMe campaign established in his honor. He often trained other security forces airmen to conduct such missions, according to the Air Force.
“Richard was not just an exceptional security forces craftsman, he was a vibrant spirit who brought joy to everyone around him,” the GoFundMe page reads. “… He never let a moment go dull, always ready to lend a helping hand or offer words of encouragement. Whether you needed support or simply someone to share a laugh with, Richard was there.”
Padilla enjoyed jiu-jitsu and coffee, the authors wrote.
Officials at MacDill said Padilla’s loss had a great impact on the installation, and they offered counseling services to those who knew him.
“He embodied what it meant to be a warrior,” Air Force Lt. Col. Michael Biederman, the 24th RDS commander, said in a statement.
Tampa police said Bailey, 48, intentionally struck Padilla and three other pedestrians Sunday night during a crime spree that began with a standoff at a Tampa gas station and included at least two shootings. The other pedestrian victims were injured but survived the attacks.
Bailey had an extensive criminal history including assaulting police officers and an emergency medical technician, and he was also convicted of an aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, police said. He was released from state prison in Florida in 2022 after pleading no contest to assault charges in 2019, according to court records.
Police believed Bailey was armed Sunday night when they stopped his vehicle on I-275 using a precision immobilization technique, or PIT maneuver. He was killed by gunfire after police believed he was reaching for a weapon, according to the Tampa police statement.
No firearm was found in Bailey’s vehicle after the incident, the statement said. Police were continuing their investigation into the spree and Bailey’s shooting death.
