After nearly four hours of negotiations, the Hillsborough County Sheriff‘s Office was able to bring a peaceful resolution to a barricaded subject incident in Ruskin on Monday night.
At 4:05 p.m. on Monday, February 28, 2022, deputies were called to a home on the 1900 block of 33rd St SE for a welfare check on Sean Porter, 35, who was making threats to harm himself. Deputies were unable to make contact with Porter. At 5:40 p.m., additional 911 calls were made stating that Porter, who was involved in an argument with another individual at the same property, fired a single gunshot before entering a shed with two individuals, an adult man and an adult woman, who were believed to be possible hostages according to a witness. Porter made additional threats to harm himself and others.
The HCSO SWAT and Crisis Negotiators were called to the scene, where negotiators worked for nearly four hours to convince Porter to exit the shed peacefully. No one was injured. Evidence of a possible gunshot was located in the shed.
"The dedication and professionalism displayed by the men and women of HCSO played a key role in keeping everyone safe tonight," said Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister. "The mental health training our deputies go through allows them to calmy and skillfully negotiate with individuals with mental health conditions. Thankfully, that training paid off tonight."
Porter has a history of mental illness, and an arrest history including battery, domestic violence, false imprisonment, and tampering with a witness. Charges are expected to follow after tonight's incident.
