LAKE WALES, Fla. – Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd and Lake Wales Police Chief Chris Velasquez breifed the media and public at 10:00 AM this morning regarding a hostage situation that occurred during the early morning hours.
According to Chief Velasquez, a woman called 911 shortly after 4 a.m. asking for help removing children from the home due to a domestic disturbance.
When police arrived, a child ran out of the home and said the suspect, Antonio Oliver, 40, was inside and they thought they heard a gun “being cocked.”
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Velasquez said that when officers arrived, Oliver was in the home with the stepson, a 14-year-old girl, and a 16-year-old girl.
The woman who originally called 911 returned back to the scene and wanted officers to get the children out of the house.
Police immediately began making contact with the suspect through a PA system and asked him to cooperate, but the man responded “not to shoot” as he was using children as a shield.
Around 7 a.m., police say they heard a gunshot, and SWAT team members ran into the home.
Deputies say that there are two deceased adult males inside the home.
Upon entry, law enforcement officers said they found Oliver dead inside the front door.
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The body of the shooter’s 19-year-old stepson was found in a back bedroom.
According to Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, the suspect has a small criminal history, with some prior domestic violence between the suspect and an adult woman.
Velasquez emphasized that officers tried multiple times to have the suspect exit the home peacefully.
“He was obviously going through some type of crisis personally in his mind and he chose the wrong way to handle this,” Velasquez added.
Judd said the suspect talked to law enforcement and begged officers to shoot him. Judd said officers told Oliver they were not going to shoot him.
Negotiators had told Oliver to call 911 and talk to law enforcement and he did, so they thought the situation was going to be resolved peacefully.
“It was a horrible situation. There was a hostage situation and he had these two children and he made statements that he was using them as a shield but not really. ‘Don’t shoot into the house. You might hit the kids.’ So, he was dead-set on shooting himself,” said Judd.
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