Seminole County Sheriff’s Deputies shoot and kill man in Sanford

SANFORD, Florida – Seminole County Sheriff’s Deputies shot dead a 26-year-old man early Thursday in Sanford after authorities received a call about a woman crying for help, officials said.

The fatal shooting was reported just before 2 a.m. on Riverview Avenue near Narcissus Avenue, south of Lake Monroe and north of US Highway 17.

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Seminole County Sheriff Dennis Lemma identified the man as Samuel Kirk, who was shot five times by two MPs.

Kirk, who is believed to be a Navy veteran, was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead, Lemma said. The deputies were not injured.

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According to Lemma, authorities received a 911 call from someone saying a woman needed help because she was injured.

MPs investigated, but the woman had already left in a vehicle, Lemma said. MPs then knocked on the door of a house on Riverview Avenue and Kirk exited the house and entered the carport, pointing a gun at the MPs and firing a shot, said Lemma.

One of the deputies took cover, and she and another deputy fired about 15 shots, hitting Kirk five times, Lemma said.

MPs assisted Kirk, who was rushed to hospital, officials said.

Lemma said Kirk met the woman who the 911 caller said needed help at a downtown Sanford bar about a week ago. Lemma said Kirk and the woman were drinking at the bar on Wednesday night, and Kirk drove an Uber home. The woman followed him to his home to make sure he got there safely when the two got into an altercation, Lemma said.

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According to Lemma, Kirk slammed the woman to the ground and began to suffocate her. She cried for help and left, officials said.

“When they were outside his house here, that’s when the verbal disturbance happened. She started screaming and screaming “you are hurting me, help me” the neighbors heard her. The neighbors called 911, ”Lemma said.

Maximilian Ranieri, who lives on Riverview Avenue, said he woke up to the sound of gunshots. He said his sister called 911.

“As soon as I heard that I woke up, I knew it was gunshots and I thought it was just in our yard or at our neighbors across the street” , said Ranieri.

Lemma said MPs, both hired less than two years ago, repeatedly yelled at Kirk to drop his gun. He said MPs were shaken but not physically injured and credited their swift actions for saving their own lives.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement will investigate the shooting and MPs will be put on leave, which is standard procedure in shootings.

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