HERNANDO COUNTY, Fla. — After working nine hours to make contact with a man suspected of attempted murder who barricaded himself inside a home Wednesday in Weeki Wachee, Hernando County deputies and other law enforcement officials say the man is now out of the home and in the hospital.
The sheriff's office responded at around 2 p.m. to the home on Maripoe Road near Papercraft Avenue attempting to serve a warrant and arrest the person, but was unable to take him into custody.
From there, SWAT team members and the agency's crisis response team were only able to make little contact with the person, however, Hernando County Sheriff Al Nienhuis said, "He was very difficult to communicate with." Initially, operations were "marginally successful," but Nienhuis said authorities were able to solve the situation without any injuries to deputies.
The man accused of attempted murder was identified as 50-year-old James Hines, and during a news conference held just before 10 p.m., Nienhuis said he was hiding in the bedroom closet of the home waiting to shoot at any officials who entered the home.
"He had a long gun and started firing at deputies," Nienhuis said. "Of course, this was a huge mistake on his part because Hernando County and Citrus County deputies did return fire."
The Hernando County Sheriff added that when Hines was seen leaving the home, he was struck by the returned gunfire and is alive. He was transported to a hospital but his condition is unknown.
During the standoff, Nienhuis said law enforcement deployed tear gas into the home and were able to get inside the lower portion of the house, but were still initially unable to see Hines. That's why authorities believed he may have been in the attic, but instead, he was found hiding in the bedroom closet armed.
Based on preliminary information, deputies reportedly approached the bedroom window as a way to get into the home. They broke the window but before they were able to go inside, Hines shot at them, authorities say.
The sheriff said Hines was the only person in the home and no hostages were inside. They also received help from Citrus County Sheriff's Office's robot from their bomb squad to aid in the search.
Nienhuis mentioned that Hines is most likely facing an attempted murder charge after he set a house on fire early Wednesday morning while two people were inside the home.
Hines reportedly bought gasoline and sent threatening texts to a person who was living in the home before he lit it on fire.
"Obviously, he was willing and able to do something as extreme as set a house on fire with gasoline with two people in it," Nienhuis said. "This is somebody who is pretty much capable of anything."
Hines has previously been arrested and charged with kidnapping and armed burglary.
The deputies who returned fire on Hines will be placed on administrative leave with pay as the Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigates that separate incident, Nienhuis added.
Deputies have not yet said if residents are still asked to stay indoors unless of if roads in the area will remain closed.