A 19-year-old killed his parents at their Florida home and shot an officer in a gunfight that was caught on the injured deputy’s bodycam before the teen was fatally shot Saturday night, June 15.
Christos Alexander Themelis Jr. fatally shot his 51-year-old father Christos Byron Themelis inside the home and then his 48-year-old mother Rebecca Ann Themelis on the front lawn in front of officers during the surreal scene shortly after 11 p.m., the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said.
Deputies initially rushed to the house when police received a “frantic” 911 call from the shooter’s mother who told dispatch her son had just shot her husband as more gunfire rang out, Sheriff Chad Chronister said.
While the mother was in the front yard, the son mercilessly shot her in the back of the head as the woman was instructed by law enforcement to walk to them. He then opened fire on the responding deputies, the footage shows.
“Stop reaching for your waistband,” a deputy could be heard shouting at the teen just before he started shooting.
In the crossfire, deputy Shane McGough, 26, was shot in the leg, authorities said.
His colleagues quickly administered life-saving measures, including tying a tourniquet around his leg, before he was rushed to a local hospital.
“I’m hit,” McGough said as he grimaced in pain, according to the bodycam footage.
The teen was also shot during the exchange of gunfire with four other deputies.
Badly wounded, he crawled back into the house and barricaded himself inside.
The sheriff’s SWAT team charged into the house shortly after and found Themelis and his father both dead from gunshot wounds, Chronister said.
Themelis is believed to have died of the injuries he suffered in the shoot-out.
McGough, a two-year vet of the sheriff’s office, is in stable condition. He underwent surgery Sunday morning, June 16, to pull a bullet from his leg.
The shooter had past run-ins with law enforcement and his guns were taken away as a result, Chronister said.
“How did he have access to any type of firearm to be able to inflict this type of violence here this evening?” he questioned, calling the shooter a “monster.”
Watch the video below.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office is releasing footage from last night's scene in Tampa. The body-camera video is from Deputy Shane McGough, the deputy who sustained a gunshot wound to his leg.
"To see this situation unfold is truly scary," said Sheriff Chronister. "There… pic.twitter.com/KTzkjGFsO4
— HCSO (@HCSOSheriff) June 16, 2024
