A Florida teenager was killed in a shootout on Saturday night after murdering both of his parents and injuring a deputy, as reported by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.
Just after 11 p.m. on Saturday, June 15th, deputies were called to a home in Tampa following reports of a shooting.
Sheriff’s deputies reported that the caller, identified later as Rebecca Ann Themelis, 48, stated that her husband, Christos Byron Themelis, 51, had been shot. During the call to the dispatch center, deputies said additional gunshots were heard.
When deputies arrived at the scene, they discovered Christos Alexander Themelis Jr., 19, and Rebecca Themelis outside the home.
Officials stated that the suspect then shot his mother in the back of the head and then opened fire on law enforcement officers, injuring one deputy in the leg.
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“The monster we encountered this evening is responsible for not only injuring our deputy but also killing his own mother and father,” Sheriff Chad Chronister stated. “Our deputies responded to a chaotic scene and immediately put themselves in harm’s way to protect our community. Without our deputy’s quick and skillful response, an entire neighborhood would have been in danger.”
Officials reported that the teenager barricaded himself inside the home and later died from his injuries.
Chronister stated that the injured deputy was in stable condition.
“Please keep him and all of the deputies involved with the shooting overnight in your thoughts and prayers,” Chronister wrote in a post on X.
The investigation into the deadly shooting is still ongoing.
According to Chronister, deputies had responded to the home 10 times before the fatal shooting, mostly for mental health issues and instances of violence involving his parents.
Chronister also mentioned that there was an active risk protection order against the 19-year-old, which prompted deputies to confiscate his firearms. Investigators are currently determining how he acquired the gun used in the fatal shooting, given that he had been labeled as “mentally unfit.”
“We don’t know exactly, and we may not ever know why he became as violent as he did. But we do know, inflicting injury or harm on another human being, it never matters what the reason is, it’s never OK. Period,” Chronister said.
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