Orlando police officer fatally shoots man while serving warrant

ORLANDO, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - Orlando Police Chief John Mina said a man was fatally shot after threatening officers with a knife.

Shortly before 2 p.m. on Friday, there was a large presence of police officers at the Crossings at Conway apartments, located in the 4100 block of E. Michigan St.  Chief Mina said the father of the man who was shot had notified police that his son had a warrant out for his arrest and that he had access to "bombs and explosives."

Officers with the OPD Fugitive Investigative Unit arrived at the apartment complex and located the subject, later identified as 35-year-old Roberto Callejas.  According to Chief Mina, Callejas was threatening to harm himself.

"The subject did have a large knife to his throat," Chief Mina explained during an afternoon news conference.

Officers attempted to subdue Callejas using a Taser.  Chief Mina said Callejas got back on his feet and had what appeared to be a laser device. 

"Officers thought he had a laser attached to a firearm," Mina added. 

Fearing the laser was attached to a gun, an officer fired at Callejas, striking him. At some point, Chief Mina said Callejas threatened officers with a knife, and that's the officer fired again at Callejas, who was pronounced deceased at the scene.

"Seems like he wanted to die at the hands of police," said Chief Mina. 

Authorities said this is the second time in as many months that Orlando police officers have had dealings with Callejas.  Chief Mina said officers responded to the same apartment complex to make contact him in September.  He said that incident was peacefully resolved. 

"We did deal with this subject earlier this year; the same type of situation,"  said Mina. 

That incident on September 20, resulted in a full SWAT response and standoff that lasted more than three hours, before Callejas was taken into custody.  During that incident, Callejas made several aggressive comments to police officers and his address was flagged for future encounters, according to a police report. 

Callejas had a warrant out for his arrest on a charge of failure to appear for armed trespassing.  Chief Mina said officers conducted a search of the his apartment and vehicle, but no explosives were found.  He said he felt his officer, a veteran with over 20 years on the force, responded appropriately to the threat, and he also praised the subject's father for notifying authorities of his son's whereabouts.

"The family member did the right thing to call police," he said. 

The officer involved in the shooting is now on paid administrative leave.  The case has been sent to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for further review.