DELTONA, Fla. -- Four deputies fatally shot a U.S. Navy veteran in his Deltona driveway Tuesday after deputies say he pointed at AK-47-style rifle at officers following a slow-speed chase from DeLand.
- Suspect fled from DeLand traffic stop
- Deputies blew out pickup truck's tires
- Gunfire erupted in suspect's driveway
Gregory Howe, 37, was pronounced dead at the scene. Deputies were not hurt.
The man was stopped in his white GMC pickup at roughly 2:45 p.m. by a DeLand police officer for a traffic violation, Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood said.
Howe, who was driving on a suspended license, was stopped in the area of South Clara and West Beresford avenues in DeLand.
The DeLand officer told him to get out of the vehicle and noticed he was fidgeting with something -- possibly the rifle later pointed at deputies, Chitwood said.
The driver took off, prompting the DeLand officer to contact the Volusia County Sheriff's Office.
Deputies tracked him in patrol vehicles and from an agency helicopter. Officers anticipated he was driving to his home in Deltona because that's the address on the vehicle's registration, Chitwood said.
At one point, officers used "stop sticks" to blow out tires of his pickup.
“The guy refused to stop,” Chitwood said.
Two narcotics deputies and two uniformed deputies drove up next to him after he parked his truck outside his home in the 500 block of Haversham Road in the Saxon Ridge subdivision in Deltona.
“At that point in time, he points out of the window what appears to be an AK-47-type firearm," Chitwood said. "All four deputies open fire. He gets out of the car. Car rolls down the driveway. Eventually he collapses from his wounds.”
Chitwood said his deputies -- two uniformed officers and two undercover deputies -- fired about 20 times. Those officers were placed on administrative leave. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement will investigate the fatal shooting.
The suspect was discharged from the U.S. Navy for medical reasons in 2012, Chitwood said.
Chitwood said the man was arrested by Daytona Beach police on May 1. He had a 40-caliber handgun and a rifle; both were seized as evidence. Details of that arrest were not immediately available.
Orange City police are investigating whether the handgun was used to shoot a woman on April 26. Details of that incident were not immediately available.
Chitwood said the suspect's father died about a year ago, and neighbors said the man lived alone.
Chitwood said his agency was waiting for warrants to search the suspect's truck and his home.