Deputies shot and killed a suspect who fired at them in Largo on Thursday afternoon.
Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said Richard Summers had a warrant out for his arrest and was trying to flee the country so he wouldn't go back to prison. He added that Summers' bondsmen contacted authorities after he failed to appear on a fraud charge. The sheriff said Summers had an extensive criminal background.
According to authorities, Summers ordered a ride from an Uber to take him to the bank. It is unclear where Summers was headed, but authorities stopped the Uber car outside the WingHouse on Ulmerton Road. The sheriff said the Uber driver had no clue what was going on, but they knew Summers had a gun.
"As he got out of the car, he turned toward the back to the East where the deputies were and fired at the deputies," Sheriff Gualtieri said.
Six detectives fired back. Sheriff Gualtieri said bullets flew across Ulmerton Road to a nearby plaza. He said he was thankful no one else was injured.
"The only person responsible for those rounds going across the street is Summers...because he didn't have to come out of that car with a gun in his hand and (shoot) at cops and when you shoot at cops, you're going to get shot back at and sometimes the rounds are going to go other than in him," Sheriff Gualtieri said.
The sheriff said his deputies did the right thing.
Summers was pronounced dead at the scene. The Uber driver was not injured nor anyone else.
"He {the Uber driver} was inside the car so he got lucky. He could (have gotten) shot," a witness said.
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