Suspect killed by deputies threatened people at Plant City church: HCSO

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Hillsborough County deputies shot and killed a suspect who was accused of banging on the windows of a church and threatening to kill the people inside.

The incident happened at Divine Mercy Prayer House in Plant City, located next to Interstate 4 on South Frontage Road.

In a news conference Tuesday morning, Sheriff Chad Chronister said deputies showed “extraordinary professionalism and great strength” during the encounter with the suspect, who has yet to be identified.

Body camera footage shows HCSO deputies responding to a call that led to the shooting.

HCSO was called to the prayer center just before 2:30 a.m. for a report of a man banging on the windows, saying he was going to kill the people inside, according to Chronister. The people living inside the church told the sheriff they didn’t know the suspect.

When deputies arrived, the suspect was on the opposite side of a 6-foot iron gate, allegedly holding a “sharp object,” which was later identified as a railroad spike.

“He’s acting extremely erratic at this point,” Chronister said. “He goes up and kicks the gate, then he retreats.”

The suspect kicked the gate open and moved toward police, “mimicking a gorilla,” as Chronister described it. He said de-escalation tactics and less-lethal options, a bolawrap and a taser, did not affect the suspect.

“At some point, he ends up closing that distance … Deputies had nowhere to retreat,” Chronister said.

Two deputies fired shots at the suspect and began performing CPR after he fell to the ground. He died on South Frontage Road.

The deputies have not been publicly identified, but Chronister said one has been with HCSO for 17 years and the other for just 10 months. A third deputy was at the scene but did not use her gun.

Chronister said body camera footage of the incident would be released “shortly.”

“I could not be more proud of these deputies,” Chronister said. “Me as a sheriff and us as a community should be incredibly proud.”

“We could imagine what kind of damage, the death that he could have caused with this railroad spike,” said the sheriff.

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