BRANDON, Fla. — A peaceful Sunday turned into a scary one for neighbors living on Alpine Drive in Brandon.
Neighbors tell Tampa Bay 28 that they were “a little scared and surprised” to hear about what happened.
According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office (HCSO), a sheriff’s deputy shot and killed a suspect, Sunday after responding to a domestic violence call and rescuing a seven-year-old child from harm.
WATCH: Suspect killed in Hillsborough deputy-involved shooting during child rescue in Brandon
Deputies were dispatched to the 100 block of Alpine Drive at 2:04 p.m. for a report of domestic violence in progress. The caller reported that the suspect was armed with a knife and choking their younger brother.
Authorities said the suspect was 27-year-old Mario Camacho, and his 18-year-old sister had made a frantic 9-1-1.
They said Camacho had cut her on the mouth with the knife and then took his little brother hostage.
"Her brother, took her younger brother, who is 7 years old, and took him in a back bedroom with the knife and was holding him against his will, for a lack of a better term, he was hostage in his own house," said Joseph Maurer, a Chief Deputy with Hillsborough County Sheriffs Office.
When deputies arrived, Camacho barricaded himself in a back bedroom. Authorities said the child could be heard screaming for help, prompting deputies to kick down the door.
"He screamed through the door, 'Break the door down,' and that’s exactly what our deputy did," said Maurer.
Authorities said inside, deputies found Camacho holding the knife and refusing to release the child from a choke hold.
After refusing the deputy's commands, one deputy fired at Camacho, saving the seven-year-old boy. Camacho was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
"Heroic by the deputies, but in the grand scheme of things tragic for that family right now," said Maurer.
Neighbors said it’s usually a quiet area, they rarely see police.
In Spanish, one family said, “We pass by every day, and we've never heard anyone fighting or arguing.”
Maurer said they had no other choice – less lethal wasn’t option in this case.
"He was wearing a motorcycle helmet, and he was also wearing two ballistic vests with armored plates," said Maurer. "The only shot he could take was the shot he had to take to stop that threat from harming that boy."
Mental illness and domestic violence are the issues the sheriff’s office said they are working to tackle.
"These are the monsters in our community," said Maurer. "And we can't attack those properly without the help of each and every community member here."
Per protocol, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement will take over the investigation, and the deputy involved in the shooting will be on administrative leave.
This is a developing story.
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