A deputy from the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office shot and killed a grandmother who had previously shot her daughter, sparking a lethal domestic intervention by law enforcement. Witness reports and an ensuing confrontation led to this tragic outcome early yesterday morning in Tampa, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office as reported by WFLA . The grandmother, identified by Chief Deputy Joseph Maurer as 46-year-old Rosamond Brookins, had barricaded herself with a firearm when deputies entered the premises, a situation escalated rapidly, ending with the loss of Brookins’ life.

The initial dispatch was for a burglary in progress received at 4:41 a.m. in the 7500 block of Carlton Circle, deputies arrived to find Brookins’ daughter suffering from a gunshot wound to the hand, and safely evacuated a child and a roommate from the danger zone; Maurer stated that Brookins appeared intent on violence despite being asked to vacate the home as early as Friday, which while not amounting to clear-cut motive nonetheless paints a picture of internal family strife, according to information obtained by FOX 13 News . Subsequent attempts to negotiate surrender failed leading deputies to breach the room where they discovered Brookins armed, ignoring multiple commands to disarm, the confrontation peaked as she reportedly raised the gun towards the deputies which resulted in Deputy Joshua Thomas using deadly force.

Thomas, who has been with the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office for only 10 months after a six-year tenure with the Temple Terrace Police Department, has no previous records of using deadly force and has been placed on administrative leave with pay pending the investigation; this policy practice follows standard protocol in such deputy-involved incidents, as confirmed by HCSO officials in a statement shared by ABC Action News . Meanwhile, the investigation into the incident has been handed over to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement in an effort to ensure impartiality and thorough examination of the circumstances leading to Brookins’ death.

Reflecting on the somber nature of the incident, a neighbor lamented the tragedy of violence within a family, "To happen within the same family, I mean it's kind of sad," evidencing the ripple effects such events can have on a community; Sheriff Chad Chronister characterized the incident as a "tragic situation" underscoring the swiftness of the deputies' response to the immediate danger and affirming the presence of support for those in domestic crisis, however, this episode bears the heavy mark of what Maurer described as the "monster in everyone’s home" when it comes to domestic violence, demonstrating the complexities and dangers officers face when intervening in intimate but perilous family disputes.