" title=""/>Editor’s note: DeLand Police Chief Jason Umberger issued a statement clarifying that no DeLand police officers pursued Howe as he fled, as he was only being written up citations and would have been released. Volusia Sheriff Mike Chitwood subsequently wrote a Facebook post critical of Umberger’s response, which you can read here.
A driver who fled from a traffic stop in DeLand this afternoon, ending up leading Volusia Sheriff’s Office deputies to his home in Deltona, and after he pointed a firearm at deputies in a threatening manner, was shot and killed.
No deputies or police officers were injured in the incident. The 37-year-old Deltona man, identified as Gregory Howe (DOB 04/04/1983), was pronounced dead at the scene.
The incident began shortly before 3 p.m. with a traffic stop in the area of South Clara and West Beresford avenues in DeLand, where Howe, driving a white GMC pickup, fled from a DeLand PD officer. Howe, who was the only occupant of the vehicle, continued towards his home in Deltona as deputies responded to assist in the apprehension. Even after multiple successful stop stick hits, Howe was still able to reach his residence located on the 500 block of Haversham Road in the Saxon Ridge neighborhood of Deltona.
Upon stopping his vehicle in his driveway, Howe, who was armed with a firearm, pointed it a deputies who were there to apprehend him. In response to Howe’s threatening actions, four deputies fired their weapons in the shooting.
For more details and other circumstances related to the shooting, a media briefing from Sheriff Mike Chitwood that took place at the scene this evening is available at: https://www.facebook.com/VolusiaSheriff/videos/2726376150824237
Additional information including photos, audio and video footage of the incident and the names of the deputies involved will be released in a subsequent update this week.
The deputies have been placed on administrative leave, as is standard following a deputy-involved shooting, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement is conducting an investigation of the incident, also standard.
– Andrew Gant, Volusia Sheriff’s Office
