Shocking video footage released by police in Fort Myers, Florida, shows a sniper shooting and killing an armed robbery suspect through a computer monitor.
The video captures the tense moments when police were negotiating with a 36-year-old man who had tried to rob a local Bank of America.
When police arrived, the suspect took two people hostage inside an office.
During the negotiations, the suspect claimed he had a bomb and used the hostages as human shields.
Despite efforts by the negotiator to get him to surrender, the suspect put one of the hostages in a headlock and held a knife to her throat.
This escalation of the situation forced the police to act quickly before the dreaded point of no return could be crossed by the hostage taker.
Footage from the Lee County Sheriff’s Office shows SWAT members stacked up in the entry area of the bank, with a SWAT sniper using another officer’s shoulder to steady his rifle.
The margin for error was razor-thin, as the suspect’s head was barely visible over the top of a computer monitor.
“Keep talking to me, keep talking to me, I want to know what’s going through your head right now,” the negotiator said to the suspect, his phrasing likely a cue for the police sniper to take the shot.
Shortly after this, the sniper fired a shot, and the suspect fell to the ground with a fatal wound to his head.
The video from inside the bank shows a bullet hole in a computer monitor and the suspect lying on the ground behind the hostages. The SWAT team quickly entered the room, using flash grenades and checking to see if the suspect was incapacitated.
Lieutenant Todd Olmer of the Lee County Sheriff’s Office explained to reporters that such shots are what police snipers specialize in, compared to the long-distance shooting often carried out by military snipers.
“Shooting positions like these are trained regularly by snipers for time-critical incidents like these,” he said. “Due to the suspect’s limited exposure, the sniper took a planned and deliberate shot through a computer monitor, striking the suspect in the center of the forehead, killing him instantly.”
According to Local 12, Lieutenant Olmer also noted that the sniper used a rifle chambered in .308. This type of round was chosen because it can penetrate certain barriers without losing much accuracy.
The swift and precise action by the sniper ended the dangerous standoff, ensuring the safety of the hostages. The footage provides a rare glimpse into the split-second decisions and actions taken by police during high-risk situations.
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