Florida deputies say a bizarre incident ended in the fatal shooting of a man believed to be high on meth when he allegedly charged at cops with garden shears right after swimming through alligator-infested waters where he was bitten.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd told news outlets that two deputies shot and killed 42-year-old Timothy Schulz on Memorial Day in Lakeland, Florida, just south of Orlando.
The sheriff’s office said the incident started early that morning when they were called to a Racetrack gas station. A station employee said that Schulz entered the convenience store and was shaking, acting bizarrely, and asking to call his son, Judd recalled in a news conference.
Deputies didn’t find him at the station or anywhere nearby. But less than two hours later, several witnesses called authorities after seeing Schulz swimming in a lake full of alligators. One 911 caller said Schulz appeared to be “drunk or high or something,” Judd said.
Judd added that when one person tried to offer him a life preserver, Schulz “growled” at them, and while he was in the lake, an alligator bit him on the right arm.
“The fact that he was bitten by an alligator, significantly, and still continued his rampage is shocking,” Judd said. “This is just crazy stuff, OK? You know that it’s got to be true, you can’t make it up.”
Once Schulz emerged from the lake, authorities say he picked up a pair of garden shears and a brick he found outside and tried to break into a car with the brick.
When deputies finally arrived at the scene, they reported that Schulz charged at them with the garden shears. One deputy deployed a Taser twice, but the shocks had no effect on Schulz.
Then, Schulz reportedly tried to climb into their police vehicle while it was still running and grab their weapons, prompting both deputies to shoot Schulz multiple times. He died at the scene.
“He tried to assault my deputies with shears. Then he jumped into their vehicle, which is an armed burglary with the shears, trying to get the rifle and/or the shotgun out. At that moment in time, all the warnings had to stop, and the action had to begin. And that’s when they shot him enough to stop the threat,” Judd said.
The sheriff’s office posted multiple photos showing the bullets the deputies fired into their police car.
Judd believes Schulz might have been high on meth that day. He said the 42-year-old carried a “long” criminal history of drug-related arrests. Schulz was just released from jail May 20 after being charged with meth possession. A police affidavit said authorities found a glass pipe in a backpack Schulz was carrying that tested positive for the drug.
The incident is still under investigation, and both deputies have been placed on administrative leave.
