A body camera footage of the Thursday incident released by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office in Florida, shows HCSO deputies burst through a glass window covered in Christmas decorations to rescue a woman being held at knifepoint, eventually shooting and killing her assailant.
The video clip shows deputies arriving on the porch of the residence, seeing the knife-wielding man, and hearing the woman scream. They burst through the front window and rushed into the home, dragging tinsel along with them as they confronted assailant, ultimately shooting him.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is handling investigation of the incident.
A press release from the HCSO described the incident involving a 47-year-old Jason Douglas Paul:
"On December 5, 2024, at approximately 9 p.m., our 911 center received a call about a dispute between neighbors at an apartment complex at Camden Street in Tampa. The caller claimed his neighbor assaulted him. When our deputies arrived, they made contact with Jason Douglas Paul, 47, who made the 911 call. Paul was acting erratically and threatening to kill his neighbor.
"As deputies tried to de-escalate the situation, Paul continued making threats to kill his neighbor and, therefore, our deputies decided to Baker Act Paul. He then entered his home and refused to come out.
"Our deputies continued to ask Paul to come outside. Through a window, deputies saw the suspect holding a knife and started to hear an adult female screaming. At this time, Paul took the female at knifepoint into a back bedroom. Fearing for her safety, deputies quickly broke through a window and entered the home.
"Deputies went to the back bedroom and ordered Paul to put the knife down multiple times. Paul refused to drop the knife, and Deputy John Howes, 30, discharged his firearm and struck Paul.
"Deputies rendered aid to Paul until EMS arrived and transported him to St. Joseph’s Hospital, where he was pronounced deceased."
Paul's past criminal history includes Aggravated Battery With a Deadly Weapon and Resisting an Officer Without Violence in 2005, and an arrest for DUI in 1999, according to the HCSO.
