An Orange County sheriff's deputy shot and killed a fugitive who attacked with a knife at a home in the Pine Hills community on Friday, Sheriff Jerry Demings said.
The suspected fugitive, described as 49-year-old man, lunged at deputies inside a home near the intersection of Tupelo Road and Gamble Drive about 6 p.m., Demings said.
"It appears that they fired one round tonight," Demings said, "and the subject is deceased at this time."
The Sheriff's Office did not released the name of the deputy, or of the fugitive. Demings said the man deputies were after was wanted for aggravated battery with a motor vehicle, grand theft and carjacking.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement was called to the scene to investigate the shooting. No deputies were hurt in the incident. Demings said about eight to 10 were involved.
It was not clear whether all of those deputies would placed on the administrative leave customary to officer-involved shooting investigations, or just the deputy who fired.
Demings said the suspect was visiting the home, and did not live there. A woman who was in the home when deputies arrived was not injured in the incident, he said.
The sheriff said deputies had Orange County arrest warrants, but not a search warrant for the home. Demings said the owner of the home invited deputies inside.
However, a man who lives next door to where the shooting occurred said deputies with guns drawn mistakenly burst into his house first, looking for the fugitive.
Eddie King said he answered a knock at the door -- expecting a man who mows his lawn -- and was met by deputies. "I just saw a gun in my face and they pushed me into the house," King told reporters.
They handcuffed him and searched every inch of the house: cabinets, closets and under beds, King said. Shortly after deputies left, King said, he heard the shot next door.
Demings said that he was aware of King's claims, and that sheriff's professional standards division will investigate. "Certainly we will look into that as well," Demings said.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
