AUBURNDALE, FL — Our news team was at the scene Friday morning when the incident unfolded. Our journalist, was sitting in the Spectrum parking lot when two Auburndale Police officers arrived and quickly rushed toward a vehicle with rifles drawn. Moments later, several gunshots were heard.
According to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, 911 calls began coming in at approximately 9:12 a.m. reporting a possible suicide and shots fired at the Spectrum office.
When Auburndale Police officers and Polk County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrived, they found a 20-year-old woman suffering from multiple gunshot wounds in the parking lot. Investigators said the suspect, identified as Derrick Brathwaite, 39, was lying nearby holding a firearm. Authorities said Brathwaite pointed the gun at responding officers and deputies, prompting them to open fire.
Officers immediately began life-saving efforts on both Brathwaite and the victim, but both died at the scene.
Sheriff Grady Judd said investigators believe Brathwaite fatally shot the victim, his girlfriend, before law enforcement arrived. Family members told detectives he had threatened the previous day to kill her and then himself. The victim had reportedly dropped off her 3-year-old son with Brathwaite’s parents in Waverly before heading to work at the Spectrum office.
Five Auburndale Police officers and two Polk County Sheriff’s Office deputies fired their weapons during the encounter. Their identities are being withheld under Marsy’s Law.
Sheriff Judd said Brathwaite had an extensive criminal history, including 31 felony arrests and 24 misdemeanor charges.
The shooting remains under investigation by the 10th Judicial Circuit Officer-Involved Deadly Incident Task Force, along with internal investigations by both agencies and a review by the State Attorney’s Office.
SOURCE: POLK COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE
