By Tony Marrero
Tampa Bay Times
RIVERVIEW, Fla. — A Hillsborough sheriff’s deputy shot and wounded a man who pointed a gun at him during a domestic call in Riverview early Sunday, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.
Manuel Alvarez, 50, was in critical condition Sunday after the shooting inside a home in the 10500 block of Lake Montauk Drive, deputies said.
Deputies responded about 4 a.m. to a domestic violence call at the home in the Riverview Lakes subdivision and found a woman who had been assaulted, according to the sheriff’s office. Deputies learned that the woman’s boyfriend, Alvarez, had beat her up and lit an artificial plant and some other items on fire in a bedroom of the home, Sheriff Chad Chronister said at a news conference later Sunday.
The woman said Alvarez was upstairs and armed with a gun.
A 30-second clip of body camera video released by the sheriff’s office shows Deputy Shawn Swinford, 35, climbing the stairs of the home and calling out to Alvarez by name.
“Come on up, I’ll shoot your ass right now,” Alvarez can be heard saying in the video.
The video shows Alvarez opening the bedroom door and pointing a gun at Swinford, who takes cover behind a corner, shouts “gun, gun,” and then fires multiple rounds at Alvarez. Alvarez can be seen crawling on the hallway floor as the clip ends.
Alvarez was taken to Tampa General Hospital, where he was listed in critical condition and underwent surgery on Sunday, Chronister said.
Alvarez does not have a criminal history and the sheriff’s office has not had any prior calls for service at the home, according to Chronister. In 2022, the Tampa Police Department took Alvarez into protective custody under Florida’s Baker Act, the sheriff said.
Swinford was placed on routine paid leave while the Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigates the shooting.
Swinford joined the sheriff’s office in July and has no previous use-of-force incidents with the agency, Chronister said. He has eight years of prior law enforcement experience.
—
©2025 Tampa Bay Times. Visit tampabay.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
