The officer-involved shooting in Alachua County on Tuesday night did not occur as originally reported, the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office announced Friday.
Police originally said a woman called law enforcement when Timothy Brower, 49, threatened suicide while armed with a rifle. The woman told police she left 14114 NW 173rd St., climbed into a white van parked outside and locked its doors. Brower then followed her, police said, smashing one of the van’s windows before driving away with the woman.
Police pursued the car, which arrived at Brower’s second address, 211 SE Wacahoota Road.
When police arrived, they initially said Brower was dragging the woman toward the house, still armed with a rifle. Officers said they shot at Brower in an effort to protect the woman and police on scene, but Friday’s announcement contradicts that.
The sheriff’s office said Friday that Brower exited the car armed with a rifle, as originally reported, but was not dragging the woman from the car. Instead, he walked toward the home as Deputy Daniel Qualmann fired shots at him, hitting Brower in the lower torso. The shot was not life-threatening, but Brower ultimately went inside of the house and fatally shot himself.
Qualmann remains on leave.
[A version of this story ran on page 1 on 10/20/2014]
