VIDEO: Man armed with railroad spike killed in deputy-involved shooting at Plant City worship center
PLANT CITY, Fla. - A man who authorities said was armed with a railroad spike and threatening a Plant City worship center was shot and killed in a deputy-involved shooting on Tuesday.
According to Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister, deputies responded to Divine Mercy Prayer Center, at 2905 S Frontage Rd, at 2:40 a.m. after receiving a call about a man banging on the windows saying he was going to kill the people residing inside.
When they arrived, deputies found that the man had climbed a wrought-iron gate to get into the worship center and observed he had a sharp object.
They saw him pacing behind the fence and growling at deputies.
As shown in bodycam video, the man was groaning and moving erratically as the deputies told him to drop the sharp object, which turned out to be a railroad spike.
After pacing behind the fence, he eventually moved out from behind it and came closer to the deputies while still moving erratically.
Deputies attempted to use BolaWrap and a Taser on the subject to slow him down and gave him verbal warnings to drop the sharp object, but he continued to press towards deputies, pushing them closer to the barrier with I-4.
The man eventually approached an ‘unsafe distance’ and two deputies shot him, killing him.
"Our deputies showed extraordinary professionalism and exhausted every less lethal option to preserve life before this fatal outcome," said Chronister. "Their actions today serve as a reflection of the extensive training our deputies undergo and is a testament to the tools they have available to serve and protect the community."
According to Chronister, after shooting the man, the deputies detained him and attempted to administer life-saving measures, but he was declared dead at the scene.
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"When I say this was textbook, this was textbook," Chronister said of deputies' response to the situation.
"We will release the video here shortly. I think we will end up using this video as an instructional video for deputies [and] law enforcement for years to come."
Chronister said reverends live at the worship center where the incident unfolded, and they were forced to cancel a 7:30 a.m. mass service as a result of the shooting.
According to Chronister, the identity of the man who was killed is still unknown at this point.
The two deputies who fired at the man, Deputy Robert Sanchez and Deputy Jacob St. John, will be placed on administrative leave while the FDLE investigates per procedure.
