Authorities fatally shot a local high school sophomore after a standoff at Majestic Oaks Apartments on Sunday night.
At about 10 p.m., 16-year-old Robert Dentmond called 911 and said he planned to shoot himself with an assault rifle, said Lt. Brandon Kutner, an Alachua County Sheriff’s Office spokesman. Dentmond then hung up the phone, Kutner said.
When deputies arrived at the apartment complex, located at 5800 SW 20th Ave., Dentmond stood in the middle of its parking lot, holding what appeared to be an AR-15 rifle, Kutner said. It was later discovered the gun was a replica.
After he ignored commands to drop his rifle and walk away, nine deputies and officers fired at him from about 100 feet away, Kutner said.
Dentmond is currently listed as a student at Gainesville High School, Gainesville Police Department spokesman Officer Ben Tobias wrote in an email.
Authorities said the gun is a replica, but further information is unavailable due to an active Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigation.
“I don’t know if it was airsoft, BB gun, water gun… paintball gun — I have no idea,” Kutner said.
ACSO and GPD will hold a community meeting at 6 p.m. today at the Powerhouse Family Worship Center, located at 7600 SW 24th Ave., according to a press release.
Donquavius Harris, 16, recalls the moments leading up to Dentmond’s death.
“I’m done with life,” Dentmond wrote in a Facebook message to Harris.
Harris pleaded with Dentmond to reconsider, but his decision was seemingly made.
“Times up I just seen her snapchat story I’m done if you need me I’ll be at North Florida,” Dentmond wrote in a message about 10 minutes before he called 911.
In an amateur video recorded from an apartment balcony, deputies are heard instructing Dentmond to drop his weapon and walk toward them.
At first, he listened.
The video shows Dentmond standing relatively still for about six minutes as authorities demand he walk away from the gun.
Despite orders from law enforcement, four of whom were trained in crisis intervention, Dentmond is later seen picking up the gun and stepping backward.
As he approached one of the apartments, police promised they would shoot if he made another step. A barrage of bullets then echoed through the complex, and Dentmond is seen falling in the video.
He was later pronounced dead at UF Health Shands Hospital, according to a press release.
Authorities who fired their weapons are temporarily assigned to non-patrol administrative duties until the investigation is complete.
Kutner said lethal force was the only option.
“In that particular situation, non-lethal force was not an option,” he said. “It put residents at risk and it would put officers at risk as well.”
Kevin Appel Jr., Dentmond’s uncle, said he believes authorities could have handled the situation without killing his nephew.
“I mean, there was obviously a better way to handle this instead of murdering a 16 year old boy who was obviously begging for someone to help him end his life, they gave him exactly what he was going for,” Appel wrote in a Facebook message.
03/21/2016 UPDATE: In a 3:00 p.m. press release, authorities said the assault rifle Dentmond had was fake. No further information about the gun could be released due to the ongoing investigation.
Authorities shot and killed a local high school sophomore after a standoff at Majestic Oaks Apartments Sunday night.
At about 10 p.m., 16-year-old Robert Dentmond called 911 and said he planned to shoot himself with an assault rifle, said Lt. Brandon Kutner, an Alachua County Sheriff’s Office spokesman.
Dentmond then hung up the phone, he said.
Dentmond is currently listed as a student at Gainesville High School, Gainesville Police Department spokesman Officer Ben Tobias said.
When deputies arrived at the apartment complex, located at 5800 SW 20th Ave., Dentmond stood in the middle of its parking lot, holding what appeared to be an AR-15 rifle, Kutner said.
Gainesville Police officers soon arrived to provide back up, Tobias said.
In a video recorded from an apartment balcony, deputies are heard instructing Dentmond to drop his weapon and walk toward them.
At first, he listened.
The video shows Dentmond standing relatively still for about six minutes as authorities demand he walk away from the gun.
“It seemed to have worked originally – again, he did disarm himself at the request of the deputies and officers on scene – but at some point that communication broke down, and he rearmed himself,” Tobias said.
Despite orders from deputies and officers, Dentmond is seen picking up the gun and slowly stepping backward.
As he approached one of the apartments, Police promised Dentmond they would shoot if he made another step.
More than 10 bullets then echoed through the complex, and Dentmond is seen falling in the video.
He was later pronounced dead at UF Health Shands Hospital, according to a press release.
Tobias said authorities were too far from Dentmond to use a Taser.
“They had to remain at a safe distance if the suspect started firing,” he said.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is currently investigating the shooting, Kutner said. ACSO and GPD will conduct internal investigations once the FDLE investigation is complete.
Kevin Appel Jr., Dentmond’s uncle, said he believes authorities could have handled the situation without killing his nephew.
“I mean, there was obviously a better way to handle this instead of murdering a 16-year-old boy who was obviously begging for someone to help him end his life,” Appel wrote in a Facebook message. “They gave him exactly what he was going for.”
Law enforcement officers stand guard outside the entrance of Majestic Oaks Apartments early Monday morning. The officers stood outside for hours after GPD officers and Alachua County Sheriff’s deputies fatally shot a 16-year-old Gainesville resident who was carrying a replica rifle on Sunday night.
