Suspect killed in Apopka standoff pointed BB gun at officers, sheriff says

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - As Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings defends his deputies, regarding a  deadly standoff Thursday afternoon in Apopka, the mother of the teenaged suspect says it could have been avoided.

Video released by Sheriff Demings of 18-year-old Landon Wooten, shows him pointing a gun at deputies. 

"I do believe our deputies did everything they could to try and resolve this situation in a peaceful manner," Demings said.  "Sadly, that was not the outcome for this young man." 

Deputies say Wooten's weapon was a B.B. gun, but he should not have pointed it at them, and it should have ended peacefully, after four hours of negotiations.

"It is an exact replica of a Walther handgun. The deputies believed they were being fired upon at that point," Demings added.

But Wooten's mother disagrees.

"He was 18, he had a B.B. gun, and I told officers several times he didn't have a gun. I told them that, and they still did this," said Janae Wooten. 

FOX 35 also captured the standoff on camera.  Deputies said Wooten came out with his hands up, and they fired non-lethal bullets at him to prevent him from going back inside.

"He reappears with gun in hand, and this is where deputies use lethal force and the subject was shot by deputy sheriffs," said Demings.  "This is not the outcome that any of us want, but we gave Mr. Wooten every opportunity over the course of four hours to come out and surrender peacefully."

Wooten's mother said she plans to fight this.

"Look what they did to my fence, my yard," she said. "It was just unnecessary. He was just 18." 

Sheriff Demings said that after reviewing drone video of the incident, he believes his deputies acted in self-defense. The five deputies involved are on paid leave while the Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating.