A Florida teen died in a shootout on Saturday night after killing both his parents and injuring a deputy, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.
Just after 11 p.m. on Saturday, June 15, deputies responded to a home in Tampa for reports of a shooting.
Deputies said the caller, later identified as Rebecca Ann Themelis, 48, said her husband, Christos Byron Themelis, 51, had been shot. While on the phone with the dispatch center, deputies said several more shots were fired.
When deputies arrived at the scene, they found the suspect, Christos Alexander Themelis Jr., 19, and Rebecca Themelis outside the home.
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Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said his department is investigating how a “mentally unfit” teenager gained access to guns that he used to kill his parents and injure a deputy. (The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office)
Officials said the suspect then shot his mother in the back of the head and then began shooting at law enforcement officers, wounding one deputy in the leg.
“The monster we encountered this evening is responsible for not only injuring our deputy but also killing his own mother and father,” said Sheriff Chad Chronister. “Our deputies responded to a chaotic scene and immediately put themselves in harm’s way to protect our community. Without our deputy’s quick and skillful response, an entire neighborhood would have been in danger.”
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The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the circumstances that resulted in a suspect fatally shooting his parents and injuring one deputy, authorities said. (Hillsborough Sheriff’s Office)
The teen barricaded himself inside the home and later succumbed to his injuries, according to officials.
Chronister said the injured deputy was in stable condition.
“Please keep him and all of the deputies involved with the shooting overnight in your thoughts and prayers,” Chronister said in a post on X.
Deputy Shane McGough, 26, was injured in the shooting on Saturday night in Tampa. (The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office)
The investigation into the fatal shooting is ongoing.
According to Chronister, deputies were called to the home 10 times prior to the deadly shooting, with the majority of those calls being related to mental health services and violence against his parents.
Chronister added that there was also an active risk protection order against the 19-year-old that led deputies to seize his guns. Investigators are working to find out how he obtained the gun used to kill his parents as he was deemed “mentally unfit.”
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“We don’t know exactly, and we may not ever know why he became as violent as he did. But we do know, inflicting injury or harm on another human being, it never matters what the reason is, it’s never OK. Period,” Chronister said.
