DeLand-Area Shooting Incident Resolved Peacefully By Responding Deputies

Date Added: October 29, 2017 8:21 am

Andrew Gant
Office of Public Affairs & Media Relations

Video/911 audio clips available at https://youtu.be/1VwO1a1pURY

DELAND-AREA SHOOTING INCIDENT RESOLVED PEACEFULLY BY RESPONDING DEPUTIES

An early-morning shooting incident in the DeLand area was resolved without injury Sunday after deputies convinced the shooter — who was repeatedly firing shots at assailants he thought were on his property — to release his daughter through a window, drop his gun and come out peacefully.

The incident at 219 Brevity Lane started around 2 a.m., when deputies learned 71-year-old Herbert Tipton (DOB 1/3/1946) was firing shots from his yard. His adult daughter reported her father claimed he’d shot someone. He wouldn’t let her leave the house because he believed there were intruders about to hurt them.

Deputies were familiar with Tipton from another gun incident on Oct. 18, when he armed himself with a rifle in his front yard to defend himself against an imagined threat. A deputy who personally knew him was able to take the rifle from him without incident in that case, and Tipton was taken into protective custody. 

On Sunday morning, responding deputies knew that history and knew Tipton had several other guns in his home. Around 2:22 a.m., Tipton started firing shots inside the house. 

Deputies determined he wasn’t firing any of those shots at his daughter. The same deputy who disarmed Tipton in the previous incident was able to establish a dialogue with him again. Around 3:07 a.m., Tipton allowed his daughter to climb out a bedroom window. Nine minutes later, he agreed to drop his gun and came out the window, too. He was taken into custody safely, and there were no injuries to Tipton, his daughter or a dog in the house.

While clearing the house, deputies found numerous guns and ammunition lying around the house. There was damage from blasts from a 12-gauge shotgun (and possibly other weapons) in multiple rooms. There was also a bullet hole through a window, where Tipton fired a shot to the outside. Deputies checked the area and found no damage or injuries to anyone in the direction of that shot.

Tipton was charged with reckless discharge of a firearm, aggravated assault and false imprisonment and was taken to the Volusia County Branch Jail, where he remained in custody later Sunday morning. Deputies also provided the family with information about actions they can take to come to a long-term solution for the safety of all.