Volusia County

Watch: Body camera footage released in fatal Volusia County deputy-involved shooting

DELTONA, Fla. — The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office has released body camera footage from a deputy-involved shooting that happened late Christmas Eve.

Deputies said Harvey Cantrell, 65, died when three deputies fired at him after he shot his 73-year-old sister, Gretchen Knowles, in the shoulder.

Deputy-involved shooting 12/24/19

*Warning: This video footage has been condensed for time and partially blurred for graphic images, but it still captures a fatal shooting* We received several inquiries about body camera footage of the Christmas Eve deputy-involved shooting on Gaucho Circle in Deltona. That footage is provided here, and the news release is below. DELTONA MAN SHOOTS SISTER, THEN IS FATALLY SHOT BY SHERIFF’S DEPUTIES A Deltona man involved in a Christmas Eve disturbance with his sister shot her after she came out of the house toward responding deputies, who then fired at the shooter, fatally wounding him. The sister survived the disturbance, which was reported to the Sheriff’s Office around 8:15 p.m. Tuesday at 1003 W. Gaucho Circle. She had called an out-of-state relative saying her brother was irrational, abusive and armed with a firearm. The brother was identified as Harvey Cantrell, 65 (DOB 6/14/1954), who lives at the address. His sister, age 73, was visiting from out of state following the recent death of their mother. Responding deputies set up a perimeter at the scene and tried to establish a dialogue to get the sister out of the house. Eventually, at about 8:51 p.m., she came out the front door followed closely by Cantrell, who then fired at her, shooting her in the shoulder. The bullet then traveled toward her head and struck her face. Three deputies immediately fired at Cantrell after that shot, killing him. The shooting is under investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the deputies who fired their weapons have been placed on administrative leave, as is standard following deputy-involved shootings. Sheriff Mike Chitwood credited the deputies for acting quickly to save the life of the woman who was shot. She was rushed to Central Florida Hospital in Sanford, where she was later listed in stable condition.

Posted by Volusia Sheriff's Office on Thursday, December 26, 2019

The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office responded around 8:15 p.m. to the 1000 block of West Gaucho Circle after Knowles called an out-of-state relative saying Cantrell was irrational, abusive and armed with a firearm, according to a news release.

Media briefing from Sheriff Mike Chitwood on the Christmas Eve deputy-involved shooting on Gaucho Circle in Deltona. DELTONA MAN SHOOTS SISTER, THEN IS FATALLY SHOT BY SHERIFF’S DEPUTIES A Deltona man involved in a Christmas Eve disturbance with his sister shot her after she came out of the house toward responding deputies, who then fired at the shooter, fatally wounding him. The sister survived the disturbance, which was reported to the Sheriff’s Office around 8:15 p.m. Tuesday at 1003 W. Gaucho Circle. She had called an out-of-state relative saying her brother was irrational, abusive and armed with a firearm. The brother was identified as Harvey Cantrell, 65 (DOB 6/14/1954), who lives at the address. His sister, age 73, was visiting from out of state following the recent death of their mother. Responding deputies set up a perimeter at the scene and tried to establish a dialogue to get the sister out of the house. Eventually, at about 8:51 p.m., she came out the front door followed closely by Cantrell, who then fired at her, shooting her in the shoulder. The bullet then traveled toward her head and struck her face. Three deputies immediately fired at Cantrell after that shot, killing him. The shooting is under investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the deputies who fired their weapons have been placed on administrative leave, as is standard following deputy-involved shootings. Sheriff Mike Chitwood credited the deputies for acting quickly to save the life of the woman who was shot. She was rushed to Central Florida Hospital in Sanford, where she was later listed in stable condition.

Posted by Volusia Sheriff's Office on Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Deputies set up a perimeter at the scene and tried to establish a dialogue to get Knowles out of the house. She came out the front door around 8:50 p.m. followed closely by Cantrell, who fired at her, deputies said. The bullet then traveled toward her head and struck her face, according to deputies

Deputies fired at Cantrell.

Eric Nutter, a neighbor, said he heard “probably one or two shots, Then, probably about 10 minutes after that, cops just started coming from everywhere.”

Other neighbors said the situation is very sad but they are impressed by how deputies handled it all.

“Everything was right by the book, the way they should be,” Richard Jensen said.

The shooting is under investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The deputies who fired have been placed on administrative leave, which is standard procedure for deputy-involved shootings.

Knowles, who was visiting from out of state following the recent death of their mother, was rushed to Central Florida Hospital in Sanford and was listed in stable condition.




Cierra Putman

Cierra Putman, WFTV.com

Cierra Putman flew south to join Eyewitness News in July 2016.