WINDERMERE, Fla. – The suspect involved in a deputy-involved shooting that was streamed on Instagram Live Wednesday night was the first to open fire during the incident, according to a report from the Orange County Sheriff's Office.
Deputies said they were called to the Citra at Windermere apartments after several witnesses reported that Laforest Gray Jr., 23, was involved in a physical altercation with his wife near a detached garage. One man said he tried to offer the woman help and she initially declined, then she came running toward his vehicle saying, "Please help," according to the affidavit.
The witness said he tried to drive the woman to safety, but Gray opened the car door, pulled the woman out by her hair, punched her and dragged her through the parking lot, according to authorities.
Two other witnesses saw what was happening and called 911 while trying to help the woman, the report said.
The woman was telling Gray "Don't get the gun" and "Put the gun away," according to the affidavit.
By the time the first deputy arrived, Gray was in the garage hiding behind a yellow Chevrolet Camaro streaming on Instagram Live. That video showed Gray screaming at the deputy and refusing to follow commands and saying things like he was "fixing to turn up" on deputies and he'd "take one for the team," the report said.
Gray's wife begged for him to calm down, but he continued to yell and curse at her, according to authorities.
Deputies and a witness said that they saw Gray fire a gun after a deputy pulled Gray's wife away from the garage, which then prompted deputies to return fire.
Gray's statements in the Instagram video and the fact that he fired the gun made deputies believe that Gray wanted to murder them, according to the report.
After the gunfire ended, the video showed Gray yelling for his wife to come back to the garage as he hid behind the Camaro.
No one was shot. A .38 caliber revolver with three spent rounds and two live catridges was found in the open trunk of the Camaro, the report said.
Gray was eventually subdued and arrested after being bitten by a K-9.
He faces charges of attempted first degree murder on a law enforcement officer and resisting arrest. Gray's wife denied that he hit her or that he fired a gun.
"The fact that they opened fire like that shows me that they either tried to hurt him or they tried to kill him because he never had a gun in his hand, he never flaunted a gun. He showed (deputies) his phone in one hand and he showed the other hand with nothing in it," the woman said.
Orange County Sheriff John Mina said that body camera video released Thursday proves what happened.
"(It's) clear from the body cam footage that the suspect did pull out a revolver and absolutely conclusively fired at the deputies," Mina said.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement will not be investigating the deputy-involved shooting because no one was injured.