John Jefferson
A Connecticut man was shot and killed by a Florida sheriff’s sniper after he allegedly fired more than 200 rounds at neighboring homes and at authorities over several hours on Thursday.
The suspect, identified as Joseph DiFusco, was killed by a sniper with the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office, but no one else was harmed, the sheriff’s office said.
DiFusco, 56, was a snowbird who possibly brought firearms from out of state because he was staying at an Airbnb, Sheriff Mike Chitwood said, according to the Daytona Beach News-Journal.
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Deputies responded to the Kingston Shores condominiums near Ormond-by-the-Sea at around 4 a.m. after DiFusco reported having suicidal thoughts but declined medical transport, FOX Orlando reported. Deputies were called back to the area two hours later when DiFusco allegedly began firing into neighboring units and at responding law enforcement officers.
“Probably fired over 200 rounds,” Chitwood said. “[You could] hear bullets whizzing over our heads, and we were 100 yards back.”
Chitwood said deputies conducted three previous visits to the condominium complex, the news station reported.
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“He was not going to negotiate,” he told the news station. “Every time we would try to negotiate, he would fire on us. [He] turned off his phone. He was armed to the teeth.”
Neighbors were evacuated from the area. Chitwood said DiFusco’s family reached out to authorities before the incident, saying they feared for their safety.
“They were so scared of him, they were sleeping in a car,” he said.
He noted that DiFusco had reportedly stopped taking his medication and had not slept for days.
Images released by the sheriff’s office show the outside walls of the complex riddled with bullet holes. The ordeal lasted more than five hours.
DiFusco barricaded himself in his rental unit and was armed with at least three guns, authorities said.
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