Florida deputies shoot, kill man accused of pointing gun at them after threatening girlfriend

Sarasota County Sheriff’s deputies shot and killed a suspect who they say pointed a gun at them Sunday morning after threatening his girlfriend.

The sheriff’s office received a call after 9 a.m. regarding a man who was threatening a woman with a gun. The woman told police the two had argued the day prior, and she awoke to find the man pointing a gun at her. 

Deputies were on the scene within five minutes, asked the suspect to come out of the house, but he would not comply, the sheriff’s office said. 

Deputies eventually contacted the suspect via phone, and convinced him to go to the window to show his hands. The sheriff’s office said the suspect invited the deputies in to retrieve the barricaded victim in a bedroom talking to 911 operators. The deputies entered a door that had been left ajar after the suspect’s mother fled the residence during the incident.

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Upon entering, the four deputies were confronted by the suspect who had his hands up. The deputies gave verbal commands to deescalate the situation when the suspect retrieved a firearm from behind his back, the sheriff’s office said. He then chambered a round in the weapon and pointed the firearm at the deputies. 

The deputies shot and killed the suspect – later identified as 47-year-old Brian Underwood, who had a prior arrest for Domestic Battery in 2014. The sheriff’s office said deputies have responded to calls involving Underwood in the past for other reported family disturbances – but none that resulted in arrests. 

The sheriff’s office has not released the names of the four deputies involved because they are considered victims of aggravated assault. The female victim’s identity – as well as her address – is also being withheld because she is a victim of aggravated domestic assault with a firearm.