ORLANDO, Fla. – Orlando police officers were forced to shoot a man armed with a baseball bat after he began attacking officers who were there to help him, according to authorities.
Police continue to investigate what led 27-year-old Almed Gebreyohonnes to threaten officers with a bat Thursday night on a cul-de-sac on Candice Court.
Neighbors called 911, saying they were concerned about Gebreyohonnes' bizarre behavior.
"People were in fear that because of how he was acting and carrying the baseball bat, possibly swinging the baseball bat," Orlando police Sgt. Jim Young said. "Officers attempted to talk to him to calm him down, but the longer they talked, the more aggressive he became."
Police said Gebreyohonnes started to come toward three officers.
An officer shocked the man with a stun gun, but police say it didn't stop him and made him more combative. Police said the officers were placed in a deadly force situation and fired shots at the man.
Police said Gebreyohonnes was known to be violent and has a history of mental illness.
"It appears in this case he was going after officers after being warned and Tased and talked to," Young said.
Gebreyohonnes' brother told Local 6 that his brother was shot nine times by police and is still in ICU at Orlando Regional Medical Center. Police, however, haven't confirmed how many times the man was shot or where he was struck.
He is listed as critical but stable condition, police said.
Gebreyohonnes has been arrested on an outstanding warrant for his arrest, and detectives will be adding the additional charges of several counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, police said.
"He is a peaceful person he never touched anybody," said Meb Yohan, who tells Local 6 he Gebreyohonnes' father.
"Yesterday I called police at 3 o'clock. 'Can you take him to the mental hospital because
he act strange?' I say," Yohan said. "They wouldn't. They say you have to evict him from your house."
Yohan said his son was treated for a mental illness as recently as two months ago.
The officers involved in the shooting, Officer Danny Stallworth, 48, and Officer Daniel Bruns, 31, have been placed on paid administrative leave, which is standard procedure.
Stallworth was hired in 1989 and Bruns was hired in 2007.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating.
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