DELAND, Fla. — A 71-year-old DeLand man with a history of arming himself against imaginary assailants is behind bars for doing just that early Sunday morning, the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office said.
In his front yard, Herbert Tipton allegedly started shooting at imaginary intruders he believed were on his property on Brevity Lane around 2 a.m., deputies said.
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His adult daughter reported that he claimed he’d shot someone and that he wouldn’t let her leave the house because he believed there were intruders about to hurt them, deputies said.
About 20 minutes later, he allegedly began firing shots inside his home, but not any at his daughter, investigators said.
Deputies were familiar with Tipton. He allegedly armed himself with a rifle to defend himself from imaginary intruders in his front yard two weeks ago.
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A deputy who knew Tipton personally was able to disarm him then, and the same deputy disarmed him Sunday.
Deputies were able to take Tipton into custody. His daughter and his dog.were not injured, deputies said.
While clearing the house, deputies found numerous guns and ammunition around the house as well as damage from 12-gauge shotgun blasts in multiple rooms.
Tipton is facing charges of reckless discharge of a firearm, aggravated assault and false imprisonment and was taken to the Volusia County jail.
DeLand-area shooting incident resolved peacefully by respondin..."Stay strong... We're going to try and get this done without anybody getting hurt, OK? That's our number one goal... We don't want anybody to get hurt. So we're going to be patient with him, and we're going to take our time to make sure." This is a very small portion of the body-worn camera video and the hour-long 911 call made during a shots fired incident early this morning in the DeLand area. Thanks to the caller, the dispatcher, our deputies on the scene and all involved in the careful, measured response to this incident, no one was hurt. More info below: 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.
Posted by Volusia Sheriff's Office on Sunday, October 29, 2017
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