‘Shots fired, shots fired’: Man dies after firing at Pasco County deputies, sheriff says

DADE CITY, Fla. - A man is dead following an hours-long standoff in Dade City after he turned the gun on himself, according to Pasco County deputies.

Investigators said deputies tried to serve a warrant Monday around 9:50 p.m. near State Road 52 and Smith Road. The arrest warrant was for three charges, but officials didn’t further specify. For about 10 minutes, they asked the suspect -- who has not been publicly identified by the agency -- to exit the home peacefully.

Then, they said he fired shots toward them, with one deputy returning fire. The Pasco County Sheriff’s Office released body camera footage from the deputy who used his weapon. 

"Shots fired, shots fired," the deputy is heard saying.

The video showed the deputy sitting in a patrol car when the first round of bullets occurred. He returned fire before exiting his vehicle.

"He fired first shots," one deputy says as he maneuvered himself behind his patrol car and crouched down. "Shots came out the window, toward my vehicle."

Additional shots were fired as the deputy spoke to dispatch.

"It is a stressful situation for them. It’s a stressful situation for their families, "said Sheriff Chris Nocco. "You know, to get the call, ‘Hey, I was just in a shooting’ or ‘Someone was shooting at me.’ These are the type of things that don’t appear on law enforcement shows, but in reality, is what our members go through."

READ: Pasco sheriff: Suspected car thief flees from deputies, runs over man on lawnmower

According to the sheriff’s office, the man refused to exit the home for more than two hours, and continued to shoot at them before he took his own life.

No deputies were injured. As a standard protocol, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement will investigate the deputy-involved shooting.