Dramatic bodycam footage from shootout with gunman released
Florida officers hailed as heroes after confronting reportedly mentally ill man who had just killed a man he believed was hitting on his imaginary girlfriend.
A Florida man started shooting at police after he killed a family friend -- who he believed was flirting with his imaginary girlfriend, officials said.
WARNING: VIDEO CONTAINS EXPLICIT LANGUAGE
Brian Disario, 30, of Port Richey, allegedly shot and killed his mother’s friend, David Armstrong, 56, because he believed the man was flirting with his girlfriend -- who did not exist -- FOX13 reported.
Disario’s mother reportedly called police after the shooting, saying her son was mentally ill and had shot someone in the garage.
"My son shot someone. He is schizophrenic. Please get the officers and ambulance here now. He's got a loaded gun," Disario’s mother told police, according to a 911 recording.
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Pasco County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrived at the scene holding weapons, body cam footage showed. One of the officers asked Disario to show his hands but the suspect shot at the deputies who returned fire, officials said.
Disario began walking toward a school, a few hundred feet away, which was immediately placed on lockdown during the incident.
"[The deputies] made a conscious decision to do anything they had to do to protect those kids in school and protect the community," Sheriff Chris Nocco said during a news conference. "Probably moments before this they were driving on patrol and doing what they had to do and seconds later, they're in a life-and-death situation, putting their lives on the line."
After the shootout, Disario went back to the home and killed himself, Nocco said.
WFLA reported a robot was sent inside the home, where it found Disario dead.
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Nocco said Disario had an AR-15 rifle and .22 caliber rifle. It was not immediately clear how he obtained the guns.
The deputies involved in the shootout were placed on administrative leave while police investigated the incident, WFLA reported.
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