PINELLAS PARK, Fla. — The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office is investigating a deadly shooting that involved Pinellas Park Officers after a man who refused to leave a short-term rental home attacked an officer with a knife.
The Pinellas County Use of Deadly Force Investigative Task Force said officers responded around 11:55 a.m. to 4370 82nd Avenue North for a Keep the Peace call. The homeowner, who had rented the property, asked for assistance in removing a renter who refused to leave.
WATCH: Detectives investigate deadly officer-involved shooting in Pinellas Park
According to detectives, officers knocked on the door, and the suspect, 43-year-old Eric Ton, answered with a knife in hand, becoming confrontational before shutting the door and barricading himself inside. Officers attempted to speak with him by phone several times, but he refused to come out.
And, a peaceful Sunday morning turned into a very scary one for neighbors. Knicole Miller has lived in the area for more than 37 years and said nothing like this has happened here before.
She shared a video with Tampa Bay 28's Annette Gutierrez showing what she saw. In the video, you could hear officers saying, "If you stay inside that residence, we are going to come in and take you to jail for a felony charge of armed criminal trespassing... get out of the residence now, unarmed, and you can leave here peacefully."
After about two hours of officers trying to get the man out of the house, officials said the officers formed a contact team equipped with less-lethal beanbag rounds and a shield before entering through the west side of the home. Inside the living room, officers commanded the Ton to drop the knife. When the suspect refused, they fired less-lethal rounds.
Detectives said Ton then struck Corporal Graham Fox in the upper left shoulder with the knife. At that point, Officer Greyson Ekdahl-McBride fired several shots, hitting Ton in the upper body.
Miller said she heard the gunshots — which was very concerning for her to hear as a mom with several kids.
"Honestly, there's no sense of security," said Miller. "I mean to have these Airbnbs put up everywhere and just anybody can, you know, our is in our neighborhood it's I mean these neighborhoods should be like, you know, there's schools and stuff around and kids."
Pinellas Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said the officers tried to avoid this outcome.
"They spent that a whole entire time trying to communicate with this guy, trying to de-escalate the situation and trying to have this not be the result, and unfortunately he made bad decisions," said Gualtieri.
Ton was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Officer Fox suffered a minor laceration to his upper right shoulder. Officer Ekdahl-McBride was uninjured.
"Knives kill and it could have been much worse, so we're very thankful that Corporal Fox is fine," said Gualtieri.
This is an ongoing investigation.
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