Volusia deputy fatally shoots man who grabbed Taser, sheriff says

Deputy Shawn Adkins involved in 2nd fatal shooting in 4 months

DELTONA, Fla. – For the second time in less than four months, a Volusia County sheriff's deputy fatally shot a man after responding to a call, authorities said.

The Volusia County Sheriff's Office said Deputy Shawn Adkins, 26, shot and killed Jose Guillermo Flores Colon, 37, during a confrontation Thursday inside a Deltona gas station bathroom.

Adkins, who has been with the agency since October 2015, was involved in a fatal shooting on March 16 when he fired at a man who pointed a shotgun in his direction at a Deltona home, sheriff's officials said. He was placed on leave after that shooting and returned to work on March 29.

Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood said deputies received a call at 4:13 p.m. Thursday about a suspicious man, later identified as Colon, who had been in the bathroom at the RaceTrac gas station at 2001 Saxon Blvd. for a long time.

"We have a guy in our bathroom and I'm not sure what's going on with him, but he's in the bathroom for almost an hour and a half now," the 911 caller said. "He might be on something, but I'm not certain. (My manager) said the man is in the bathroom running around without a shirt on."

The first deputy arrived at the scene at 4:19 p.m. and found Colon in the restroom with a syringe and what appeared to be heroin and fentanyl on the sink, Chitwood said. 

 

The sheriff said the deputy gave the man at least 15 commands to surrender, but he resisted.

 

"The fight is on," Chitwood said. "(Adkins), the second deputy, arrived on scene and pulled out his Taser and attempted to Taser the subject. During the struggle, the suspect gains control of the Taser, which causes the deputy to react with deadly force and fire shots. He killed the male inside the bathroom."

Neither deputy was injured.

Chitwood said the shooting illustrates the severity of the opioid crisis in the region.

“It goes back to the opioid crisis. I don’t know this guy's criminal record, but clearly, he was a drug user who turned violent,” Chitwood said.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement will investigate the shooting, which is standard practice in deputy-involved shootings. The Sheriff's Office said Adkins has been placed on administrative leave with pay, which is also standard practice.

Watch News 6 and stay with ClickOrlando.com for more on this story.

 


About the Authors:

Erik Sandoval joined the News 6 team as a reporter in May 2013 and became an Investigator in 2020. During his time at News 6, Erik has covered several major stories, including the 2016 Presidential campaign. He was also one of the first reporters live on the air at the Pulse Nightclub shooting.

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