HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) – An individual who barricaded himself in a home in Plant City and ignited a standoff after shooting at deputies was found dead inside the residence Monday afternoon.

Deputies blocked off Sparkman Road between Jap Tucker Road and Clemons Road and evacuated homes in the area after the man broke into a mobile home and began “acting erratically” just before 8 a.m..

The person in the mobile home was able to escape, according to Granit, but that set up an hours long standoff with the SWAT team.

“What we were experiencing was this man coming out of the mobile home, yelling at deputies, and then returning to the mobile home. Deputies were able to hear shots fired in the direction of deputies but at no time did deputies return fire towards this individual,” said Granit.

The sheriff’s office then called on its SWAT team, Crisis Negotiation Team, K9, Aviation and Bomb Team to assist the situation.

Just after 10:30 a.m., deputies saw smoke coming from the residence and a few minutes later heard a single gunshot fired.

As the situation unfolded, family members made a desperate plea for the man to come out peacefully.

“T.J. we love you and whatever is going on, we just want you to come out. We want to keep the cops safe and we want to keep you safe. Don’t hurt yourself. Your mom and dad is down there with you. God is with you. We love you. Just come on out and let’s end this honey. You are going to be okay. You are going to be just fine and everything is going to be okay cause God’s got you,” said Shaleena Boseman who is a cousin of the man involved.

Deputies tried for hours to make contact with the subject but were unsuccessful. At 2:45 p.m., they located an individual deceased inside the residence. The sheriff’s office believes the man took his own life as negotiators were trying to talk him into coming out peacefully.

“Our deputies worked tirelessly for hours to try and bring this incident to a peaceful resolution,” said Sheriff Chad Chronister. “I want to thank Hillsborough County Fire Rescue and the Plant City Police Department for their assistance during our investigation.” 

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