By Alexa Coultoff
Tampa Bay Times
PASCO COUNTY, Fla. — A Pasco County sheriff’s deputy was shot Monday after a man suspected of shooting two people — one fatally — pointed a gun at him, Sheriff Chris Nocco said.
The suspect was shot by other deputies. Both the deputy, who is expected to be OK, and the suspect were taken to the hospital.
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The chain of events began around noon at the intersection of Davista Avenue and Sawtell Street in New Port Richey, Nocco said at a news conference Monday afternoon.
A man and woman, who have not yet been identified by the sheriff’s office, were using tools to clear a lot of land when the suspect, Aaron Rodriguez, 32, “got irate and upset and started yelling at the victims,” Nocco said.
The sheriff’s office wrote in a Facebook post that preliminary information suggests the dispute was about property use.
Rodriguez shot the man, who then collapsed at the intersection, Nocco said.
The woman was also shot and started running away from Rodriguez, Nocco said. Fire rescue arrived and took her to the hospital. The man who was shot died at the scene.
When deputies arrived, they found Rodriguez inside the garage of a house across from the lot of land, Nocco said.
Three deputies, one with a K-9, started approaching the house.
The K-9 deputy saw the suspect holding a gun, Nocco said.
Deputies told Rodriguez to drop the gun, and he didn’t, Nocco said.
Nocco did not say who fired first, but the deputy fell to the ground and put a tourniquet on. The other two deputies continued shooting and then moved into the garage to make sure Rodriguez was neutralized, Nocco said.
The department posted a portion of a deputy’s body camera footage on Facebook.
“We tell people if you put your hand on something hot like a boiling pot, your hand is going to burn; if you play with glass, it’s going to cut; if you point a gun at a Pasco deputy, you’re going to get shot,” Nocco said. “There’s no apologies, there’s no sympathy, he got shot.”
The deputies who fired at Rodriguez have been placed on standard administrative leave while the Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigates the shooting, Nocco said.
No other information was released.
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