Officials identify man killed by Hillsborough MP after threatening church

Kevin Accettulla and Rachel Tucker

22 minutes ago

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – Officials have identified a man who was shot by Hillsborough County officers on Tuesday after threatening a church.

Anthony Ray Gamez, 40, banged on the windows of the Divine Mercy Prayer House in Plant City and threatened the people inside, officials said.

The residents of the church told the sheriff that they did not know the suspect.

When officers arrived, the suspect was on the opposite side of a 6-foot-tall iron gate and was reportedly holding a “sharp object,” later identified as a railroad spike.

The suspect kicked open the gate and walked toward police, “impersonating a gorilla,” as Sheriff Chad Chronister described it. He said de-escalation tactics and less-lethal options, a Bolawrap and a Taser, did not affect the suspect.

“At some point he manages to close that distance…The deputies had nowhere to retreat,” Chronister said.

Two officers fired shots at the suspect and began CPR after he fell to the ground. He died on South Frontage Road.