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Neighbors say armed man shot by Altamonte Springs Police had caused disturbances before

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Published  February 7, 2024 8:41pm EST
Altamonte Springs
FOX 35 Orlando

Man waving weapon around shot, killed by police

Altamonte Springs police said an officer shot and killed a man who was waving his weapon around his neighborhood

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS - A man is dead after an officer-involved shooting in Altamonte Springs. 

Altamonte Springs Police say they got a call from someone in the River Run subdivision who was fearful of their neighbor, 65-year-old Eric Seckington.  A man who lives across the street from Seckington, Jordan Cox, explained what happened. 

"He was going door to door, basically knocking with a rifle," said Cox. "Kind of like pivoting in the air. It was, like, really weird."

Cox says he was inside his house at the time, across from Seckington’s home, but his wife was outside walking around.

"I heard a loud bang, like a heavy sheet metal pan dropping," said Cox. "Really loud."

That turned out to be a gunshot. The Altamonte Springs Police Department says officers told Seckington to lower his weapon.

"I heard an officer call out, drop it," said Ryan Painley, who lives next door to Seckington. 

However, police say he didn’t, and one of the officers shot him. He died at the hospital. People living in the River Run subdivision are still shaken up but not exactly shocked.

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"It’s a nice neighborhood. We really don't see this ever," explained Cox. "But it's always been something with this exact house."

Multiple people told FOX 35 that Seckington had caused problems around the neighborhood. But that was a recent development. 

"It was a cordial, neighborly situation," said Painley. "About two years ago, that changed."

Court documents show officers repeatedly went out to settle disputes between Seckington and Painley. One police report says Seckington had accused his neighbors of breaking into his house to put listening devices inside. On other occasions, the report says he’d broken into their patio, dug around their backyard, messed with their fence, and caused other disturbances. 

"Seventeen calls were made over the course of two years," Painley said.

Seckington had some run-ins with the law before. Court records show he’s faced charges for battery, assault with a deadly weapon, and drug crimes both in Seminole County and in the panhandle. Court documents show Seckington missed a court date last week because he was getting inpatient care at North Tampa Behavioral Health.  Hours before he was shot and killed, Painley says the courts had just processed his restraining order against his neighbor.

"We also requested a mental evaluation. So he was to basically submit his own to his own evaluation and also surrender any firearms and weapons within 48 hours," said Painley. "He did not get that opportunity."

The officer who shot Seckington is on paid administrative leave.

"It was just sad that he didn't get the help that he needed," said Painley. "We wished he would have gotten help, and he would have had the tools he needed to get better, or at least be put somewhere where he could be watched and taken care of."