A woman was killed in a shooting on Wednesday evening in Clermont, and police said responding officers were “met with gunfire” from the gunman, according to a news release.
Clermont police said they responded to the Cottonwood Apartments, located in the area of 1700 Oakley Seaver Drive, around 3:42 p.m. regarding a call from a witness who stated they saw a woman running and screaming from a man.
According to the release, officers initially could not find a victim, but later saw what appeared to be blood near an apartment door.
Officers at the scene began investigating and performed a well-being check at the apartment and found a woman who appeared to be suffering from a gunshot wound.
Police said as they began to assess the scene and the victim, they were met with gunfire.
According to the release, officers returned fire and the gunman went back into the apartment. After officers retreated to a safe position, they evacuated nearby apartments.
After officers tried to make contact with the gunman, a SWAT team was finally able to get into the apartment he’d holed up in, where they found him dead with a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said.
“We do not believe there are any additional victims at this time. We believe that this was an incident isolated to this apartment,” police said in their release.
In a news briefing afterward, Draper said that investigators believe the suspect and slain woman had been in a romantic relationship.
“We have indication from some of the neighbors that they’re coinhabitants,” he stated.
According to Draper, the gunman appeared to be “in his late 20s,” and officers were able to recover a handgun from the scene.
Draper also explained that the agency had one prior call for service there stemming from around October 2024, though it’s unclear whether that incident was connected to the shooting.
“We got a call for a subject acting erratically,” Draper said. “Officers responded, attempted to make contact. They were unable to make contact with anyone. And that came in as an anonymous tip.”
Once police had announced that there was no longer a threat, residents of Cottonwood Apartments began to return home. Several of them had anxiously waited for updates while standing in a parking lot across the street.
One such resident was ML, who told News 6 that his wife and young children had been sheltering in place in their apartment for hours.
“I came here booking from work,” he said. “I was told I couldn’t get in — that there was an active shooter situation going on.”
L showed News 6 the automated texts he received from his property management, alerting him that residents who had not been evacuated by police should shelter in place.
“Obviously, (I was) a bit nervous,” he added. “I have faith in my wife to protect our family, as well. However, it doesn’t change the situation that this is happening literally in my backyard.”
Police have not yet released information on the identity of the victim or suspect. No additional details have been provided at this time.
This is a developing story.
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source: clickorlando
