Two foster children broke into a Volusia County home Tuesday night, then used guns they found inside the residence -- including an AK-47 -- to repeatedly fire at deputies for about 30 minutes, according to sheriff’s officials.
News outlet WKMG reported that deputies said they were looking for a 14-year-old girl and a 12-year-old boy with diabetes who ran away from a Florida United Methodist Children’s Home, a foster home, Local10 reports.
“So the deputies in the Deltona area go out looking for this 12-year-old and this 14-year-old because the 12-year-old is insulin-dependent and the 12-year-old, if he doesn’t get his medication within four hours, it’s going to be a critical medical emergency,” Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood said.
“At 8:28, one of my sergeants who was the first to arrive (at the house), Sgt. Donnie Maxwell, takes fire multiple times, never returns fire. At 8:31, one of our units reports they’re being fired at by the 12- and the 14-year-old. At 8:33, another call comes out from another group of deputies surrounding the home saying that shots were fired. At 8:40, the 14-year-old emerges from the property and threatens to kill Sgt. Maxwell. At 8:54, the juvenile male, armed with an AK-47, opens fire on deputies,” Chitwood said.
Up to that point, deputies hadn’t returned fire, according to the sheriff. Instead, he said they tried to deescalate the situation and stepped into the line of fire to throw a cellphone into the house in hopes of ending things peacefully.
“The 14-year-old comes out of the garage with a pump shotgun, levels it at deputies and despite warnings to drop it, she walked back into the garage, she comes back a second time, and that’s when deputies opened fire after taking multiple rounds,” Chitwood said.
The girl was shot in the chest and in the arm. According to Chitwood, she’s fighting for her life.
Deputies immediately applied tourniquets and rendered aid while also turning their attention to the 12-year-old boy, who was still armed with the AK-47, according to Chitwood, who said the boy dropped the gun about 30 seconds later.
No deputies were injured.
