Deputies fatally shot a man who they say grabbed a firearm early Sunday following a chase that started when they were called to a Florida apartment complex because the man had fired shots at a rival outside a party, authorities said.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release they were called to the Tampa apartment complex because the man had fired shots at another man over a woman at a party earlier in the night. The deputies tried to talk to the man, but he wouldn’t respond to them and led them on a short foot chase through the apartment complex.
After a deputy pulled out a Taser, the man pulled a gun and pointed it at his own head. He threatened to harm himself and suggested he would be going to jail for the shooting earlier. Onlookers urged the man to put the weapon down, and a deputy talked to the man by phone, urging him to lay down the weapon and surrender, the news release said.
The man eventually put his firearm on the ground but refused to move toward deputies. He picked the firearm back up a short time later, and three deputies fired their weapons, fearing for their lives and the lives of onlookers, the news release said.
The man was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The three deputies will be placed on administrative leave while the Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigates the shooting.
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