Authorities have released the identity of the man killed in a deputy-involved shooting following a standoff in Gainesville near the University of Florida on Tuesday.
Officials confirm Samuel Edgardo Rivera, 44, was killed in a shootout with SWAT team members.
Initially, authorities arrived at the apartment Rivera was staying at on Northwest 9th Terrace to serve a felony narcotics warrant for his arrest.
Deputies say when they entered the unit and reached the bedroom, they issued commands for Rivera to come out. Instead, his girlfriend exited, and as they approached the bedroom door, he fired a single shot.
Deputies withdrew from the apartment, and a perimeter was set up around the building, blocking parts of University Avenue. The apartment and some nearby buildings were evacuated for the safety of the people in the area. The incident did not occur on UF’s campus.
Hours after the standoff began, SWAT team members gassed the apartment with a non-lethal chemical irritant. Rivera then fired multiple rounds through a side window in the direction of deputies.
Officials say a deputy radioed in that he spotted Rivera by a window, pointing a handgun at another deputy. A SWAT team member then fired a single shot, hitting Rivera. He died on the scene.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) has been called in to conduct an independent investigation. The deputy who fired was placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the review.
Deputies arrived at the apartment around 8 a.m. Tuesday. They say they gave multiple commands for Rivera to come out.
He didn’t, but his girlfriend did.
Around 8:15 a.m., deputies say a single gunshot was fired from the apartment, and deputies withdrew.
Gainesville Police brought in a hostage negotiator, who spent several more hours trying to get Rivera to surrender.
Around 11 a.m., a SWAT team used a chemical irritant to try to flush Rivera out.
Deputies say he fired multiple gunshots through a window.
A sheriff’s office SWAT team member fired a single round, hitting Rivera.
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Source: wcjb
