Town N' Country SWAT Standoff Ends In Gunman's Suicide

TOWN N' COUNTRY, FL -- An eight-hour standoff between an armed man and the Hillsborough County Sheriff's SWAT Team has ended with the man taking his own life.

Sheriff's Chief Deputy Donna Lusczynski said the crisis negotiators "did everything they could to convince him to surrender," but he subsequently killed himself around 2 p.m.

The sheriff's office was called to the home of Michel "Frenchy" Barbeau, 47, at 6731 Ranger Drive in The Cove subdivision at 5:32 a.m. Thursday after Barbeau shot two women. A 40-year-old woman was struck in the shoulder by a bullet and a 30-year-old woman, later identified as Barbeau's girlfriend, was hit in the leg. Deputies met them outside the home and they were taken to the hospital where they are expected to recover.

In the meantime, Barbeau barricaded himself inside the home. Negotiators finally made contact with him around 7:30 a.m. and tried to talk him into surrendering himself. His attorney also attempted to convince him to come out of the house peacefully but Barbeau cut off all contact with authorities at 12:30 p.m.

Lusczynski said the SWAT Team used a high-pressure water device to break the lock on the front door of the home and then sent in robots with cameras to see inside the house. The robots were equipped with a microphone allowing negotiators to speak with Barbeau but he refused to respond.

Finally, the team used tear gas to force him to come out but, when they sent a robot back inside, they saw that Barbeau had taken his life.

Lusczynski didn't elaborate on what led to the shooting. He had recently moved to The Cove. The two women lived elsewhere in Hillsborough County.

Barbeau has no prior criminal history.

Lusczynski said investigators will know more after they speak with the women who remain in the hospital.

The standoff caused an evacuation of some residents in the area and the closure of Longboat Boulevard West between Hillsborough Avenue and Memorial Highway.

Sheriff's Office

Sheriff's personnel set up a command center inside the mobile SWAT unit.

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