LARGO, Fla. — A 65-year-old man faces aggravated assault charges for pointing a rifle at three Largo officers during a domestic situation, which prompted them to shoot at him, police said.
Officers responded just before 11 p.m. Saturday to a home in the area of 144th Lane N. where a man, later identified as James Roesler, damaged his ex-girlfriend's car and got into a fight with neighbors, according to a Largo Police Department news release.
A witness alerted dispatch as officers were on the way that they heard a gunshot at some point.
Police say when they arrived at the home, Roesler appeared armed and was ordered to drop his weapon. Instead, according to police, he pointed the rifle at three officers who then fired their weapons.
Roesler was taken to an area hospital, where he's stable. Two officers, Charles Flowers and Neritan Hisa, were taken to the hospital as a precaution after they got into a crash while responding to the incident, police said.
Police say Roesler told investigators "what I did was stupid" and that "the officers did what they had to do."
He faces charges of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, battery on a person 65 years of age or older and felony criminal mischief.
The three officers involved in the shooting — Ryan Kennedy, David Neverline and Thomas Dziamba — were not hurt. Largo police say, according to policy, that the Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the shooting given that it involved officers.