FORT MYERS, Fla. — On Wednesday night, the Fort Myers Police Department was called to the Vistas at Eastwood complex around 11:30 p.m. after reports of a man randomly shooting his gun at the apartment complex.
FMPD says the man who fired the gun was 29-year-old Ryan McFarland Bauer.
To better understand the situation, Sanchez spoke with Dr. David Thomas, a professor of forensic studies at Florida Gulf Coat University who broke down Wednesday night's events.
After reviewing the video obtained by us, Dr. Thomas says what he saw was, "somebody who was taking shots, looks like randomly, just taking shots at the courtyard, what would an apartment outside their apartment door."
The stand-off between FMPD, SWAT, and 29-year-old Ryan Mcfarland- Bauer lasted about 5 hours.
"I saw what appears to be law enforcement going up the staircase and I say that because I saw the flashlight," Thomas said.
Upon further review, Dr. Thomas says he could see the officer take a tactical position once he got up the stairs and shot the subject.
"The suspect, when he got shot from a distance ... he went down, and then he wasn’t, it wasn’t over and he still had the ability to resist and was able to point a gun and make movements. The officer responded by shooting in order to stop the threat."
Some residents were evacuated from the complex, but not all. Dr. Thomas says there’s a good reason for that and most likely, many were told to shelter in place.
" I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a 911 reverse call to the people to tell them to shelter in place. To try to get people out, when you have a person that is actively shooting, there is no way you can protect those people."
The case has now been taken over by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement since it is an officer-involved shooting. FMPD said at a press conference on Thursday that the two officers involved are on paid leave, which is normal protocol anytime an officer is involved in a shooting.
