PASCO COUNTY, Fla. — UPDATE: The suspect in Saturday's deputy-involved shooting, 79-year-old James Zambrotto, died Monday night at an area hospital.
A man who pulled up to a RaceTrac gas station in Hudson early Saturday morning told a deputy that he wanted to kill people, according to the sheriff, who said deputies were forced to open fire.
What You Need To Know
- Elderly man shot by Pasco deputies early Saturnday at RaceTrac on U.S. 19
- No deputies were hurt
- Body cam video shows deputies pleading with the man to put down his gun
During a news conference at around 10 a.m., Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco said 79-year-old James Zambrotto pulled into the gas station at intersection of U.S. 19 and Little Road, and told a deputy that he wanted to kill people there.
Saturday afternoon, the sheriff's office released body camera video of the incident.
The video shows a deputy trying to talk to the elderly man, who refused to get out of his car. He even offered to buy the man a coffee.
Nocco said the deputy eventually called for backup.
After 40 minutes of trying to talk the man down, releasing pepper spray inside his car, and enlisting the help of a hostage negotiator, Nocco said deputies placed stop sticks on the ground to keep the man from driving away.
At one point on the body camera video, a deputy is seen trying to break the driver's side window with his bare hand to reach the man inside and end the situation peacefully.
However, Nocco said the man drove forward, rammed a patrol vehicle in front of him, and started shooting at the deputies.
Deputies returned fire, Nocco said, and the man was taken into intensive care at an area hospital.
"We are proud of the efforts our members took to de-escalate this situation and the professionalism they demonstrated," the Pasco County Sheriff's Office wrote in a Facebook post, where it released the body camera video.