HUDSON, Fla. — A 79-year-old Florida man was wounded early Saturday after deputies said he fired at them from close range at a gas station.
James Zambrotto, of Port Richey, was in intensive care at an area hospital, the Tampa Bay Times reported. According to the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office, the incident occurred at a RaceTrac gas station in Hudson.
“He starts talking to the deputy … he starts rambling stuff about how he wants to kill somebody,” Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco said at a news conference. “He wants to drive his vehicle into the gas pumps to kill people.”
The deputy talked to Zambrotto for about 15 minutes and offered him a cup of coffee, WTVT reported. When Zambrotto continued to talk and threatened to cause an explosion by hitting the gasoline pumps, the deputy called for backup, the television station reported.
After 40 more minutes of talking to Zambrotto, Nocco said the man drove his vehicle into one of the patrol cars blocking the gas station exit, WFLA reported. A few moments later, Nocco said Zambrotto started shooting at deputies through his windshield, the television station reported.
Two deputies returned fire, striking him, the Times reported.
No deputies were injured. The shooting is being investigated by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, according to the newspaper. The Sheriff’s Office did not release the names of the deputies involved.
Nocco said Zambrotto does not have a criminal history with the Pasco Sheriff’s Office or any documented mental illnesses, WFTS reported.
“It’s a tragedy, we wish to God nobody was harmed today, but because of his actions we had to take action, that action may have prevented him from harming someone else,” Nocco said at the news conference. “Thank God the deputies are OK. But I go back to this: I wish to God nobody was harmed today, I wish to God the situation could have deescalated.”
Cox Media Group
