SWAT standoff in Hollywood ends with home being set on fire, man killed by deputy
A man was fatally shot Thursday morning by a Broward Sheriff’s Office deputy after he allegedly barricaded himself inside his home in Hollywood and then set the place on fire, authorities said.
According to a BSO spokeswoman, the SWAT standoff in the 2700 block of Dewey Street started sometime Wednesday morning after the man, whose identity has not yet been released, made threats to kill others and himself before barricading himself inside his home.
By around 4:30 a.m. Thursday, the home was engulfed in flames.
Hollywood firefighters used a ladder truck to extinguish the flames.
Relatives of the man told Local 10 News that he was standing on the back patio when the fire was raging.
According to authorities, at some point Thursday morning, the man “aggressively came toward BSO SWAT members with a long pole using it like a spear.”
A deputy then fired at the suspect, striking him at least once.
The suspect was taken to a local hospital, where he died.
One woman who lives nearby told Local 10 News that the man had been served some kind of papers a few days ago and has been posting disturbing messages on social media ever since.
“He barricaded himself in the house. I guess he got served some papers Saturday or Sunday for divorce or something,” Andria Cato said. “And I guess he just flipped out from that and they came back to check on him today and he didn’t come out. He was like, ‘I’m not coming out until y’all either take me or I take my own life.’”
Cato said the man was also throwing Molotov cocktails at authorities, but BSO has not confirmed that.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the deputy-involved shooting, per standard protocol.
