Gunman Killed, Hostage Rescued In Wimauma Standoff: Sheriff

Updated at 11:54 a.m.

WIMAUMA, FL — A gunman was killed by a SWAT officer Wednesday morning as he held his girlfriend hostage for more than nine hours barricaded inside a shed in Wimauma, Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said. A second man was found dead inside a car parked near the shed.

The standoff lasted for 9.5 hours with Juan Sarmiento, 42, and the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office SWAT members, crisis negotiators and deputies.

According to Chronister, a crisis negotiator talked to Sarmiento throughout the standoff as he barricaded himself inside a shed and held his girlfriend hostage. The woman was not injured.

Hours later, Sarmiento stood at window in the shed and a SWAT member shot him once, killing the gunman, Chronister said.

Sarmiento was waving his gun around when the officer fired, the sheriff said.

The gunman was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead by medical staff, Chronister said.

Deputies are waiting for a search warrant to go inside the car to investigate what happened to the victim inside the car, officials said.

Police were called to a house in the 5600 block of Center Street just before midnight by a friend of Sarmiento, who told dispatchers at the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office that the suspect had asked him to help him take out some trash.

"When he arrived at the residence, he immediately noticed that the trash his friend wished him to dispose of was a deceased male victim wrapped in plastic laying across the backseat of a car," Chronister said at a press conference. "He helped guide our deputies to the 5600 block of Center Street where the first two responding deputies saw the deceased individual laying in the backseat of the car, and at the same time heard a male and a female voice inside an 8 x 10 shed...the deputies banged on the door."

The deputies then asked Sarmiento to come out.

"They were met with a lot of profanity telling the deputies to back off," Chronister said.

Sarmiento told officers he had a hostage and a gun.

"At that point they had to retreat to a safe distance from the shed," Chronister said. "And activated properly our SWAT Team and negotiators."

According to Chronister, as the crisis negotiators spoke to Sarmiento, he became more agitated, which led police to fire a shot when the suspect appeared in the window.

Sarmiento's friend said the suspect shot and killed the man in the car, Chronister said.

It is standard protocol for the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office to release the name of a deputy when shots are fired from their agency-owned gun while on the job. Chronister said at the press conference that he will not release the name of the deputy because the officer is involved in undercover operations.

This is a developing story. Patch will keep you updated.