Man armed with railroad spike killed in deputy-involved shootout at Plant City worship center

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PLANT CITY, Fla – A man who authorities say was armed with a railroad spike and threatening a Plant City worship center was shot and killed Tuesday in a deputy-involved shooting.

According to Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister, officers responded to a worship center near a main road on I-4 around 2:30 a.m. after receiving a call about a man banging on the windows and saying , he would kill the people living in it.

Courtesy: Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office

When they arrived, officers found the man had climbed over a wrought iron gate to get into the worship center and discovered he was carrying a sharp object. Sheriff Chronister said the man seemed “erratic” at the time and was approaching officers.

Chronister said the man moaned and mimicked the actions of a gorilla when officers told him to drop the sharp object, which turned out to be a railroad spike.

Officers attempted to use a BolaWrap and a Taser to slow him down, but Chronister said they were pushed back toward the I-4 barrier by the man.

The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office responded to I-4 in Plant City for the deputy-involved shooting.

The man eventually approached an “unsafe distance” and two police officers shot and killed him. According to Chronister, officers arrested the man after shooting him and attempted life-saving measures, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

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“When I say it was textbook, it was textbook,” Chronister said of deputies’ response to the situation.

“We will publish the video here shortly. I think we will use this video as an educational video for officers (and) law enforcement for years to come.”

Chronister said the pastors lived at the worship center where the incident occurred and were forced to cancel a 7:30 a.m. service because of the shooting.

According to Chronister, the identity of the man killed is unknown at this time.