Boy, 14, fatally shot mother at Riverview home, Hillsborough deputies say

Hillsborough County deputies responding to calls about a man with a gun running through a Riverview neighborhood Saturday came-face-to face with a 14-year-old boy who repeatedly placed the weapon to his own head, but ultimately didn’t fire.

After a 16-minute standoff in the Summerfield neighborhood, the boy set down the gun and deputies fired on him with a “less-lethal” 40-millimeter projectile to subdue and arrest him, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said.

Shortly after that, deputies discovered the boy’s mother fatally shot in a nearby driveway. The woman’s boyfriend was found inside a home several doors away with gunshot wounds to his hands and face and was taken to Tampa General Hospital.

The man was in critical condition and was sedated as of Saturday night, Sheriff Chad Chronister said during a news conference at the scene on the 11000 block of Lynmoore Drive.

The boy’s older brother, who witnessed the shooting, had fled the scene when the younger brother turned the gun on him, Chronister said.

The older brother later told deputies he’d heard the mother and boyfriend arguing before the shooting started, Chronister said.

The 14-year-old boy was taken into custody Saturday. The sheriff’s office did not release information on pending charges but said it was seeking a search warrant.

Chronister said the boy had no criminal history, and the only time deputies had been called to the home previously was in response to a vehicle stolen from that address.

“This scene is one of nightmares and absolute heartbreak,” Chronister said in a written statement. “This family’s life is forever changed. A victim’s life was taken, and because of his actions, the suspect’s life, as he knows it, is over.

Chronister praised deputies for having “saved this young boy’s life,” through calmly talking with him to negotiate and de-escalate the situation.

The sheriff did not discuss possible motives for the shooting on Saturday, but made a plea for those experiencing domestic violence to seek help with a support organization, such as The Spring of Tampa Bay.

This is a developing story and will be updated as more information is made available.