‘Monster’: Tampa 19-year-old kills parents, shoots deputy in gunfight, sheriff says
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A 19-year-old Tampa man was killed in a shootout after killing both of his parents and injuring a deputy in an overnight standoff, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.
“The monster we encountered this evening isn’t just responsible for injuring our deputy, He’s also the subject who killed his own mother and father,” said Sheriff Chad Chronister.
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An HCSO release said that at 11:09 p.m. Saturday, deputies responded to a home on Cactus Wren Place in Tampa after a woman called for help, saying her husband had been shot. However while the caller was on the phone with the dispatcher, several more shots were heard on the phone.
When deputies arrived, they found the shooter, 19-year-old Christos Alexander, and his mother outside the home.
The sheriff’s office said the suspect then shot his mother in the back of the head and fired his gun at the law enforcement officers, injuring Deputy Shane McGough, 26.
“[The] deputies do a great job,” the sheriff said. “Their training kicks in. They start rendering aid. They remove the deputy from this dangerous position and place where he was exchanging gunfire, get him out of the line of sight from our bad guy, and immediately start lifesaving measures by applying a tourniquet on his leg so he doesn’t bleed out.”
Five deputies returned fire at the suspect, hitting Alexander and knocking him to the ground. However, he then crawled back inside the home and barricaded himself inside, Chronister said.
The HCSO SWAT team, crisis negotiators, and a robot arrived on scene to help enter the home. Deputies used their robot to enter the home through the front door.
“Unfortunately, the first person we encounter on the ground is the father,” the sheriff said. “The father had succumbed to his injuries.”
The SWAT Team then entered the home, finding Alexander dead from his injuries in another room.
According to Chronister, Alexander lived with his parents. Deputies were called to the home 10 times before the deadly shooting, mostly for mental health service and violence against his parents.
The sheriff said there was also an active risk protection order against Alexander that led to deputies seizing his guns. Investigators are working to find out how he obtained the gun used to kill his parents.
“How did this mentally ill subject have access to any type of firearms when we took his firearms” the sheriff said. “They’re in our custody. How did he have access to any type of firearms to be able to inflict this type of violence this evening?”
McGough was hospitalized at St. Joseph’s Hospital and is expected to make a full recovery in three months after his leg surgery, officials said.
“Deputy McGough is in good spirits and with his family,” Chronister said.
The sheriff’s office said the other four deputies involved in this incident were Deputy Brandon Schade, 26; Deputy Richard Ziegler, 33; Deputy Bjar Atkins, 38; and Deputy Ciara Moncada, 34.
None of the deputies used deadly force before this incident, officials said. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the incident.
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