Florida man fatally shot by homeowner during invasion, deputies say

LAKELAND, Fla. — A Florida man was fatally shot by a homeowner during a home invasion Friday morning, authorities said.

The shooting was the culmination of a series of bizarre events in the Central Florida city of Lakeland, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.

Mayson Armando Ortiz-Vazquez, 45, of Orlando, was killed by the homeowner, The Ledger of Lakeland reported.

According to Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, Ortiz-Vazquez was “totally out of control” when he drove his vehicle down the road, attempted to enter a school bus, left tracks on the side of the road and then crashed his vehicle through a fence, WTVT reported.

“The school bus driver was a hero,” Judd told reporters. “She kept the doors locked and didn’t let him in when he ran up to the vehicle.

“God bless our school bus drivers.”

Denied entry to the bus, Ortiz-Vaquez jumped on two more vehicles, breaking one windshield, The Ledger reported.

The driver of the first vehicle called 911 after he noticed that Ortiz-Vazquez was bleeding, Judd told reporters. The driver of the second vehicle described him as “growling” before he jumped off that vehicle and left the area, the sheriff said.

Ortiz-Vazquez then approached a nearby house and “barreled” through the front door, The Ledger reported. A 9-year-old child, his parents and grandparents were in the house, Judd said.

After Ortiz-Vazquez entered the living room, the child’s father grabbed a gun and called 911, the newspaper reported.

“They were trying to control him inside the house. He grabbed the glass that didn’t break when he broke in and threw it at the homeowner,” Judd told reporters. “And that is when they shot him, and he went down.”

Ortiz-Vazquez was taken to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead, WTVT reported.

Cox Media Group