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Deputies in Florida fatally shot a man who was holding a woman hostage at knifepoint, as seen in dramatic body camera footage released by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. The incident occurred Thursday night around 9 p.m. on Camden Street in Tampa after deputies responded to a 911 call reporting a dispute between neighbors.
The suspect, identified as 47-year-old Jason Douglas Paul, was acting erratically on his porch when deputies arrived. “He’s lucky I didn’t grab ahold of him and f—ing kill him,” Paul shouted at one point in the video. Deputies repeatedly tried to calm him, but Paul became increasingly aggressive.
The Hostage Situation Unfolds
Paul eventually retreated into his home and locked the door, preventing officers from entering. Through a window adorned with Christmas decorations, deputies saw Paul holding a knife. Despite their repeated commands to put the weapon down, Paul moved to a back bedroom where a woman’s screams suddenly erupted.
Deputy John Howes and other officers broke through the window to intervene. The body camera footage shows Howes, with garland still wrapped around his arm, rushing toward the bedroom. There, Paul was found holding the knife and restraining the woman.
“Put the knife down, right now,” Howes ordered. Paul refused to comply, prompting Howes to fire a single shot at his head. Paul collapsed, and deputies quickly escorted the woman out of the house unharmed.
Aftermath and Investigation
Paul was transported to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Sheriff Chad Chronister commended the deputies for their swift response. “Our deputies sprang to action when confronted with a situation where someone’s life was in immediate danger,” Chronister stated. “They are trained to protect innocent lives, and that’s what they did.”
Deputy Howes, who joined the department in February, is under routine review as the Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigates the shooting.
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