After an eight-hour standoff at a gas-station parking lot at International Speedway Boulevard and West Parkway, near Daytona Park Estates, the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office successfully took Neil Ryan Kirkland, 41, into custody without injury late in the morning of May 29.
Kirkland, of DeLand, was on probation after a conviction in 2001 for first-degree attempted murder.
Kirkland reported to the Sheriff’s Office around 2 a.m. that he planned to commit suicide, or suicide by cop, Chief Deputy John Creamer said during a press conference. Creamer said Kirkland was located by Air One, the Sheriff’s Office helicopter, standing in a driveway.
The helicopter backed off after the suspect fired a shot from a handgun, according to Creamer.
Creamer said Kirkland drove away from the location, only to encounter deputies who deployed spike strips. His vehicle came to a stop at 2496 E. International Speedway Blvd., in a gas-station parking lot.
According to Creamer, over the course of several hours, as Kirkland repeatedly entered and exited his vehicle with a handgun pointed at his head, deputies and telecommunicators worked to de-escalate the situation.
Traffic was rerouted along Kepler Road and International Speedway Boulevard, and drivers were advised to avoid the area.
Kirkland was finally taken into custody around 10 a.m., and transported to the Volusia County Branch Jail, where he faces charges of aggravated assault on an emergency medical-care provider, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, discharging a firearm in public, and violation of probation. He is being held without bond.
