Robert Lee Timberlake Jr., a Federal Protective Service officer, was killed on January 24, 1979, at about 9:45 a.m. while on duty in the lobby of the Tampa Federal Building at 500 East Zack Street. Federal agents who opened the elevator doors severely wounded the assailant; Timberlake later died of his injuries.

The assailant was initially found incompetent to stand trial and was committed to the state mental hospital in Chattahoochee, Florida. In 1980 the individual was declared competent, tried, and sentenced to 20 years for each attempted murder count and 5 years for each assault charge, with those terms to run concurrently with time in the mental hospital. Timberlake, an Army veteran, had served eight years with the Federal Protective Service after 12 years with the Akron Police Department. He was survived by his wife, three children, and his mother. The Tampa Federal Building was later renamed the Timberlake Federal Building in his honor.