TAMPA, Fla. — The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has been brought in to investigate an early morning deadly deputy-involved shooting at the Bristol Bay Apartments in Tampa.
According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Department, deputies were sent to the apartment complex on the 4700 block of Bristol Bay Way around 12:42 Sunday morning. When deputies got to the scene, they found two men had been in a verbal and physical fight at a party over a woman.
Witnesses told deputies the fight spilled outside, and one of the men, Jonathan Huertas Reyes, 32, fired multiple shots at the man he was fighting with, but no one was injured.
Deputies found Huertas Reyes and attempted to talk to him. The HCSO said Huertas Reyes ignored deputy commands, and there was a brief chase through the apartment complex.
According to the sheriff's office, a deputy pulled a stun gun. That's when Huertas Reyes allegedly pulled a gun and pointed it at his own head.
Deputies said onlookers began shouting at Huertas Reyes to put down his gun. A bilingual deputy talked to Huertas Reyes on the phone, trying to get him to put down his gun. According to the HCSO, Huertas Reyes made threats to harm himself.
The sheriff's office said Huertas Reyes eventually put his arm on the ground during the talk but refused to come to deputies. The HCSO said Huertas Reyes then picked the gun back up, and deputies shot him because they were "in fear of their lives and the lives of onlookers nearby."
Life-saving efforts were started on Huertas Reyes, deputies said. He was taken to Tampa General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said the deputies involved in the shooting were: Sgt. Benjamin Kenney (21-year veteran), Deputy Nicholas Scudder (7-year veteran), and Deputy Jeff Louis (1-year). The sheriff's office said none had any prior use of deadly force.
FDLE is handling the investigation, and none of the deputies will be placed on administrative leave, the HCSO said.
