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LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) — Sheriff's deputies fatally shot a 53-year-old man after he shot his mother in both legs and pointed a gun at them during a domestic disturbance investigation in Florida, authorities said.
Marjorie Pacuicrk, 75, had called 911 after son John Pacuicrk argued with her before locking himself in his room at home in Lakeland around 6 p.m. Thursday, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said in a news release.
The dispatcher told the woman to walk outside the house and wait for deputies. When they arrived, she told them her son had gotten angry when she asked him to help her push her car into the backyard. He tried and the car wouldn't move. According to Judd, John Pacuicrk went into his room and his mother told him through the door that she wanted him to leave.
Deputies Lee Smith, 23, and Bernardo Del Valle, 28, went inside the home to talk to John Pacuicrk. While inside, Judd said the deputies heard gunshots and ran out front where they saw the man and his brother, Theodore Pacuicrk, 51, rolling around on the ground. They ordered John Pacuicrk to drop the gun, but he jumped up and pointed it at the deputies, Judd said.
Both deputies returned fire and John Pacuicrk was struck several times, Judd said. Deputies performed CPR, but he died at the scene.
The mother made it to a car in the front yard. Judd said she was taken to a hospital in stable condition.
Theodore Pacuicrk told investigators his brother had gone out the back door, jumped a fence and was walking toward the front yard with a gun in each hand, Judd said. He said his brother was saying, "I'm going to kill her," so he put him in a bear hug, but the brother was still able to fire multiple shots, striking their mother. At that point, he said he wrestled his brother to the ground.
Judd said the deputies have been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation.
According to the sheriff, John Pacuicrk had a DUI arrest in South Carolina in 1986 and his Florida driver's license was revoked.
The race of those involved in the incident wasn't listed on reports.
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