LAKELAND, Fla. — Memorial Day was extra somber for some neighbors living in the Christina Hammock community when they woke up to a round of gunfire in their front yard.
"It is very sad to think that someone died right in front of your house," said an anonymous neighbor. "So, it’s been a very trying day."
WATCH: "Pretty bizarre," said neighbors after man is killed by deputies following apparent gator attack
In a news briefing Monday morning, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said deputies shot and killed Timothy Schultz, 42, after a gator attacked him, assaulted a deputy with garden shears, broke into a patrol car, and attempted to steal a gun.
"I basically heard the gunshots. I got up, opened my garage door, and saw the two deputies treating him," said Steve, a neighbor.
Steve is a retired law enforcement officer and first responder who has witnessed many scary incidents in the past, but he said it’s never been this close to home.
"It's pretty bizarre," said Steve. "I've been a crime watch director in here for about 5 years now, and we've never had anything quite like this."
Judd said it first started when his agency received a call from the Racetrack on Highway 37 about a “shaking” man asking to call his son. Deputies responded quickly, but didn’t find him.
Almost two hours later, just before 8 a.m., another call came in about a man swimming in the lake with alligators.
"He was gator bitten along the way," said Judd. "Now this is just crazy stuff."
"Nobody swims in here," said Steve. "We've got 10 and 12-foot gators in this lake, so it's not advisable."
Witnesses told investigators they tried to help Schultz, but he refused and even growled at another neighbor.
The neighbor whose backyard Schultz ran through wanted to remain off camera to protect her family. But she said they’ve always felt safe living here until today.
"We ran into the bathroom literally and we were very scared because we didn’t know of shots were going to come through the windows," said the neighbor.
Judd said Schultz tried to attack a deputy with garden shears and then used a brick to try and break into a truck.
"We try to de-escalate," said Judd. "We tased him twice; we tell him to drop the shears to no effect. The tasers had no effect on him. He climbed into a vehicle committing another armed burglary where he was trying to get to our rifle and our our shotgun, and we shot him."
Judd said Schultz has a lengthy criminal history involving meth.
"His conduct was outrageous," said Judd. "It was bizarre. When you can swim across the lake, sustained apparent alligator bites, grab shears, try to break into a vehicle, attack law enforcement officers, jump into their car, try to get their rifle and shotgun, you're out of your mind on drugs."
The sheriff said all the deputies are safe.
Per protocol, the two deputies who shot Schultz will remain on administrative leave until the investigation has concluded.
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