TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — One woman is dead and another is injured after a woman shot her daughter in Tampa Sunday morning.
Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Chief Joseph Maurer reported that they were alerted to a burglary taking place at approximately 4:41 a.m. The home involved had a grandmother, her daughter, a grandchild, and a roommate present.
Upon the deputies’ arrival, an incident occurred where the grandmother accidentally shot her daughter in the hand. The roommate then left the house with the child, ensuring their safety.
The deputies entered the premises, and one team managed to assist and rescue the injured daughter, who, according to Maurer, seemed to be under the influence of drugs.
She was transported for medical treatment and is now in stable condition.
A second team located the suspect barricaded in a back room of the house. The door was locked, and the woman ignored multiple commands from deputies to open the door.
When deputies breached the door, they found the woman armed. She ignored commands to drop the weapon and began to raise the firearm, at which point she was shot and killed by one of the deputies.
Maurer identified the officer involved as Deputy Joshua Thomas, who has been with HSCO for ten months and was previously with the Temple Terrace Police Department for six years. He has no prior use of deadly force.
While he was unable to comment on the motive, Maurer added that the grandmother and daughter lived together, and that the grandmother was asked to leave on Friday.
Maurer said this was a domestic violence situation and encouraged anyone suffering from similar abuse to reach out for help.
“Domestic violence is the monster in everyone’s home,” he said. “We cannot police in your homes.”
As is typical with deputy-involved incidents, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement will conduct the investigation.
