Town ‘n’ Country man shoots bondsman, barricades inside apartment before turning gun on himself: Deputies
Crime scene tape outside an apartment complex where an alleged gunman was found dead.
TOWN 'N' COUNTRY, Fla. - A nearly four-hour-long standoff between a barricaded man and deputies with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office ended with the suspect taking his own life, according to HCSO.
HCSO says a bondsman went to the Five West Apartments in Town ‘n’ Country around 6:45 p.m. on Wednesday to serve a felony arrest warrant for fentanyl trafficking and reached out to deputies for assistance.
After initially failing to reach the subject, the bondsman was able to touch base with the man shortly before 8:10 p.m. That’s when, according to deputies, multiple shots were fired, and one grazed the bondsman in the arm.
According to HCSO, deputies immediately secured the perimeter of the apartment complex and evacuated residents.
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Deputies say they tried to make contact with the gunman, who was believed to be the person being served the warrant but were unsuccessful.
HCSO vehicles outside a Town 'n' Country apartment complex where a man barricaded himself inside after allegedly shooting a bondsman serving a warrant.
HCSO says the crisis negotiation team, bomb team, and SWAT also tried to reach the gunman.
Around 10:40 p.m., the sheriff’s office entered the apartment using a robot to assess the situation and discovered the alleged gunman dead from self-inflicted gunshot wounds.
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"I'm thankful that due to the diligent and brave efforts of our deputies, no other innocent lives were impacted by this individual," said Sheriff Chad Chronister. "This situation could have ended much differently had our team not swiftly assessed the scene and protected our citizens from a man determined not to be taken into custody. Incidents like this are why teamHCSO invests in technology to keep our community and personnel safe."
The gunman’s identity has not yet been released.