DELTONA, Fla. — A man and his nephew were found dead Friday inside a Deltona apartment after a more than six-hour standoff, officials said.
Noel Flores, 60, shot his nephew, Arthur Johnson, 44, and then himself, the Volusia County Sheriff's Office said.
Arriving deputies said they heard gunshots from Flores’ apartment and began evacuating the surrounding apartments.
Deputies said Flores called 911 and spoke for several minutes with a Sheriff’s Office telecommunicator, telling her he had just shot a man and was planning on taking his own life rather than going to jail.
Dispatcher: "Who's dead?"
Flores: "My friend is dead in the other room."
Dispatcher: "Who killed him?"
Flores: I did because he pulled a gun on me."
Deputies said there is no evidence to support Flores' claim that his nephew pulled a gun on him.
The telecommunicator prayed with Flores and tried to get him to put down his weapon.
“I love you so much because you’re helping me out, but I’m just telling you the truth: I cannot do it. I cannot do it. I can’t,” Flores told her, according to deputies.
He said he had no intention of hurting any law enforcement officers and that he'd fatally shot another man in the apartment.
Barricaded subject in Deltona 11/29-11/30/18Body camera footage: ARMED, BARRICADED SUBJECT SHOOTS SELF AFTER SHOOTING MAN IN DELTONA APARTMENT *Deputies were in area to arrest suspect in recent courthouse threats* A 6-hour negotiation with an armed and barricaded man in a Deltona apartment building Thursday night ended in his apparent suicide by self-inflicted gunshot Friday morning. Another man was found dead inside the apartment, confirming the barricaded subject’s earlier statements that he’d shot and killed someone. The incident at Belltower Apartments (530 Belltower Ave., Deltona) began just after 7 p.m. Thursday, when deputies were in the area looking to locate and arrest a suspect in connection to recent threats phoned in to the Volusia County Courthouse in DeLand. (Previous news release in that case posted on Nov. 9.) While those deputies were on scene, they heard gunshots from the suspect’s apartment. Deputies began evacuating the surrounding apartments as backup units responded to the complex. Moments later, the suspect called 911 and spoke for several minutes with a Sheriff’s Office telecommunicator, telling her he had just shot a man and was planning on taking his own life rather than going to jail. The telecommunicator prayed with the suspect and attempted to calm him during an approximately 6 ½-minute initial phone call followed by a 13-minute callback: “…If you don’t listen to anything else that I say, can you just please put that gun down?” she asked him multiple times. The suspect repeated that he couldn’t bear going back to jail. “I love you so much because you’re helping me out, but I’m just telling you the truth: I cannot do it; I cannot do it. I can’t,” he told her. He said he had no intention of hurting any law enforcement officers. Negotiators on scene were able to establish phone contact with the suspect and communicate with him directly for several hours, but he was not willing to come outside. The suspect also spoke on the phone with Sheriff Mike Chitwood but still refused to leave the apartment. The suspect told deputies the man he shot was an adult male friend/relative, and that he shot the man after the man pointed the gun at him and also threatened him with a knife while deputies were outside the apartment building. Shortly after 1 a.m., members of the VCSO SWAT team along with a bomb robot entered the apartment and found one man dead inside a front bedroom. The suspect was located in the master bedroom closet with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest, which he’s believed to have sustained as SWAT was clearing the apartment. A deputy performed life-saving measures on the suspect at the scene until a Deltona Fire Rescue paramedic relieved him, and then he was transported to Central Florida Regional Hospital in Sanford in critical condition. He was later pronounced dead at the hospital. There were no injuries to any deputies or other first responders. Release/official confirmation of the identities of both of the deceased is pending positive identification and/or notification of next of kin. ***Update*** The IDs of the deceased are: 60-year-old Noel Flores (DOB 6/13/1958) – barricaded subject 44-year-old Arthur Johnson (DOB 12/1/1973)
Posted by Volusia Sheriff's Office on Friday, November 30, 2018
When deputies eventually entered the apartment, they said they found Johnson dead and Flores with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Johnson was Flores' nephew from his deceased wife's side.
The Red Cross assisted residents of Bell Tower apartments who were evacuated during the standoff. Deputies also closed off Bell Tower Road to traffic while they negotiated with the subject.
Deputies said they used tear gas before entering the apartment.
Sheriff Mike Chitwood said deputies originally were on their way to the apartment Thursday to arrest Flores for threatening to blow up the DeLand courthouse on Nov. 6. On the way to his door, they said they heard gunshots.
We made entry at Belltower Apartments in Deltona where an armed subject was barricaded. He was found in a closet - taken to hospital w/ self-inflicted GSW - in critical condition. Confirmed: A second adult male was found deceased in the apt. News media: Full release later today
— Volusia Sheriff (@VolusiaSheriff) November 30, 2018
Spoke to a family member who showed up at the scene. He says the barricaded subject is his brother-in-law and that the possible shooting victim is also family. #WFTV @WFTV
— Megan Cruz (@MeganWFTV) November 30, 2018
LOOK: still here on scene. We’ve watched as deputies shot what looked like tear gas canisters into the apartment. No new updates from the @VolusiaSheriff. @WFTV #WFTV pic.twitter.com/VtYJxTsfqr
— Megan Cruz (@MeganWFTV) November 30, 2018
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