Alachua County Sheriff’s Office identified the four deputies and the man they killed in a shoot-out Friday.
Gregory Williams, 32, was identified as the man fatally shot, according to an ACSO press release sent out on Monday. Deputies responded to a call about gunshots in East Gainesville, when they arrived, Williams began shooting at ACSO. They shot back and killed Williams.
The ASCO deputies involved were Sgt. Fred Thomas, Sgt. Richard Howell, Deputy Andy Adams and Deputy Alex Acosta, according to the release. They have been placed on paid leave per department policy while The Florida Department of Law Enforcement and ACSO investigate the deputies’ action, ACSO spokesperson Art Forgey said.
The sheriff can allow the deputies to return to work, he said, but they cannot respond to calls until the investigations close.
At 4:07 p.m. Friday, the deputies arrived at 2325 SE 46th Terrace, a house near Eastside High School, after they received a call about gunshots, sheriff’s office spokesperson Sgt. Frank Kinsey said. Communications operators could hear gunshots while on the phone and were told that at least one person had been shot.
According to the press release, Williams had assaulted his girlfriend who recently gave birth and shot at other family members before deputies arrived.
When police arrived, Williams began shooting at them, the release read. Deputies shot back, and Williams was shot. Police then removed Williams for medical attention.
At 4:24 p.m.deputies found another person who was grazed by a bullet one street over, but the person did not require emergency transportation. At 4:34 p.m. Williams was reported dead and another woman was taken to the hospital after suffering a non-fatal gunshot wound to her upper torso.
Josh Vaughn, who has rented a house on Southeast 46th Terrace for about two years, saw and recorded some of the incident on his phone.
When Vaughn pulled onto the street on his way home Friday afternoon, he said he saw a woman running down Southeast 46th Terrace who seemed hysterical and kept looking over her shoulder. He offered to help her, he said.
The woman told Vaughn her son, Williams, shot her, and she pulled down her shirt to reveal a gunshot wound on her shoulder, he said. She appeared to be running from a man in his late 20s or early 30s who was farther down the road.
The woman asked to use Vaughn’s phone to call her other son, he said, but the call went to voicemail.
Williams began running through neighbors’ backyards, Vaughn said. Within minutes, police flooded the street and found Williams, he said. It was unclear who began shooting first, but Vaughn heard several gunshots and the woman pleaded for the police to not kill her son.
“She was screaming for the police ‘not to kill my son, don’t kill my son,’” Vaughn said.
He eventually saw officials carry away Williams’ limp body, he said.
In 2016, ACSO was involved in the police killing of a Gainesville teen who was carrying a replica assault rifle. A grand jury determined the teen’s death was justified later that year. The sheriff’s office also shot and killed a man who they said refused to drop his gun in 2017.
Kinsey said deputies were not wearing body cameras, but ACSO will review footage from the vehicles’ dashboard cameras.
This story has been updated to reflect that ACSO deputies arrived at 2325 SE 46th Terrace. The Alligator initially reported otherwise.
Lucille Lannigan contributed to this report.
Contact Chasity Maynard at cmaynard@alligator.org. Follow her on Twitter @chasitymaynard0.
