WESTCHASE — A 45-year-old man was shot and killed by the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office SWAT team Thursday after a five-hour standoff during which he fired several shots at deputies, the Sheriff's Office said.
Sheriff's officials said Matthew P. Cormier, of 9641 Magnolia Blossom Drive was pointing a gun out a window of a condominium where he lived when he was shot and killed by the SWAT team about 6 p.m.
Cormier was pronounced dead at the scene, said Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Debbie Carter.
Deputies were called to Magnolia Blossom Drive at 1:05 p.m. for a "welfare check" after receiving a call from a family member.
Deputies spoke with Cormier when they arrived and he threatened them, Carter said.
"Cormier … threatened to kill the deputies and stated that deputies would have to kill him and he would kill some of them in the process," Carter said in a news release.
A few nearby condos were evacuated, and deputies negotiated with Cormier for five hours, Carter said. During the negotiations, he fired several shots at them, shooting out a window of the second-floor condo, Carter said. One shot hit a patrol car.
Jesse Howard, 39, who lives across the hall, said Cormier had lived there a little more than a year. Howard said he didn't know Cormier well, but believed that he lived in the unit with a woman and two children, and that he drove for a limousine service.
"He always seemed nice. It didn't seem like there was anything wrong there," Howard said. "I was totally shocked by this."
The shooting occurred in a part of Westchase called West Park Village, a quiet, tree-lined neighborhood with nice lawns and homes, and plenty of holiday decorations.