A domestic disturbance call in Parrish ended in gunfire late Sunday after a 29-year-old man pointed a handgun at Manatee County deputies, according to the sheriff’s office.
Deputies responded around 10 p.m. Sept. 15 to a home on the 13000 block of Shimmering Amethyst Court, where Hayden Firth’s wife reported he had been drinking all day and walked into a wooded area with a firearm.
While deputies were speaking with her, the man returned to the home, refused commands and at one point told deputies, “You’re going to have to kill me,” before pulling out a .45-caliber handgun and pointing it at them, according to deputies.
Deputies opened fire at 10:05 p.m., striking Firth three times — once in each arm and once in the torso. They immediately applied tourniquets and wound dressings, Sheriff Rick Wells said. Firth remains hospitalized in critical but stable condition. There were no prior domestic violence calls to the residence, Wells added.
The deputies involved are on paid administrative leave pending an investigation.
“I’m very proud of my deputies, the way that they conducted themselves and the way that they tended to the needs of the suspect after he was shot,” Wells said.
The incident marks the second deputy-involved shooting in Manatee County in the past two weeks. On Sept. 10, a 61-year-old Bradenton man was killed in a deputy-involved shooting. Deputies attempted to serve a search warrant related to an ongoing armed robbery investigation.
Wells said in response to the timing of the shootings that deputies undergo annual training on both use of force and trauma response.
Firth may face a risk protection order or additional charges once the investigation is complete, Wells said.
Melissa Pérez-Carrillo covers breaking news and public safety for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Reach out at mperezcarrillo@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Parrish man hospitalized after deputy-involved shooting during domestic dispute
Reporting by Melissa Pérez-Carrillo, Sarasota Herald-Tribune / Sarasota Herald-Tribune
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