VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – Gunfire rang out on Christmas Eve in a quiet Deltona neighborhood as Volusia County deputies attempted to get a 73-year-old woman out of the house where she was being “verbally and physically” threatened by her adult brother, 911 calls and deputy-worn body camera of the incident shows.
Body-worn camera video released by the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office Thursday shows what happened in the moments leading up to deputies fatally shooting Harvey Cantrell, 65.
Deputies responded to the home on Gaucho Circle in Deltona the night before Christmas after Cantrell’s sister was able to make contact with her niece in Virginia and told her Cantrell had a gun out and was making threatening statements. Unable to call local 911, the niece called a family friend who called authorities.
The brother and sister buried their mother last week, according to the family friend who called 911, and Cantrell suffered from an undiagnosed mental illness.
“Harvey has a gun out and is making threatening comments and she is very scared," the 911 caller said.
Authorities were able to relay information to the victim, telling her to walk out the front door where deputies would be waiting, according to the video.
After arriving at Gaucho Circle, deputies took cover in a neighbor’s garage and told the residents to “go inside and go to the back bedroom" as they waited for the 73-year-old woman to walk out the front door.
[WARNING: The redacted body camera video below includes gunfire and may be difficult to watch for some.]
Deputies had the house surrounded.
The video shows that as the woman walked out, deputies told Cantrell to put his hands up and then gunfire erupts.
“As she comes out of the front door, her brother comes out behind her and shoots her one time in the shoulder -- bullet hits the shoulder, ricochets into her face, at that point, deputies open fire on him and he’s killed instantly,” Sheriff Mike Chitwood said.
When deputies saw Cantrell open fire, three deputies returned fire, killing him, according to officials.
“As soon as he fired, I let him have it,” one deputy said in the video.
Deputies immediately began administering first aid to the victim and telling her she was going to be “OK.”
“Ma’am are you OK?” one asked.
“No, I’m not," she said.
The victim was taken to Central Florida Regional Hospital in Sanford and listed in stable condition.
On Thursday, the Sheriff’s Office identified the deputies who fired their weapons as Sgt. Jason Stickels, 38, Deputy Michael Sawicki, 32, and Deputy Jacob Bissonnette, 35.
The shooting is under investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which is standard procedure for an officer-involved shooting.
All three deputies have been placed on administrative leave pending the FDLE investigation.