A young woman was brutally beaten when her ex-boyfriend assaulted her at her apartment. However, when he returned to finish the deed, the girl’s father was there waiting for him.
There’s nothing more dangerous than crossing a protective father, especially when it comes to his daughter. So, after a man physically attacked his former girlfriend at the Polos Apartments complex in Gainesville and fled the scene, he should have stayed far away. Instead, Florida police were left investigating a bizarre homicide.
At around 9 p.m. on a Saturday night, the Gainesville Police Department received a call concerning a domestic battery at the Polos Apartments complex in the 2300 block of Southwest Williston Road, WFLA reported. Detectives confirmed that a male suspect, whose name has been withheld, had gone to the apartment of a girl he used to date and had beaten her up.
By the time the police arrived at the scene, the suspect had fled in his vehicle. Officers noted that the young woman had clearly been assaulted, and police searched for the man. While the hunt continued, the victim’s father arrived at the apartment to console his daughter.
Nearly 30 minutes after the assault, the ex-boyfriend returned to the complex. Believing that the young woman was alone again, he forced his way into the apartment. When he got through the door, he was shocked to find his worst nightmare waiting for him.
Inside the apartment waiting for the ex-boyfriend was the girl’s father, armed with a handgun. Police reports say the dad fired a single round at the suspect, hitting him in the chest, according to WCJB. Although critically wounded, the suspect then attempted to flee the scene once again. However, he didn’t get very far.
When police arrived, they discovered the ex-boyfriend lying next to his vehicle in the parking lot. Officers performed CPR but were unable to revive the man, who was pronounced dead at the scene. According to initial reports, no one was arrested in regard to the shooting, and police said they did not expect that charges will be brought against the father.
“The father, who was armed with a handgun, fired one shot at the suspect which struck him in the chest,” the department said.
Residents were left reeling from the shooting. One resident even said that he was considering moving away from the apartments after the incident.
“Everyone I speak to here is so nice,” said one resident named Cona, “I come and I work out here everyday and everyone I interact with is so genuine and kind so it was one of those things where it’s definitely out of the blue.”
Police did not release any of the names involved immediately following the incident. However, many said that violent acts are foreign to what has generally been considered a safe area.
“I thought that you had the wrong Polos or something,” said Dalton Graham. “I have nothing but good things to say about the University and the city in general, and especially the Polos Apartments. Never really had anything like this so it was pretty shocking.”
Although the details are unclear as to what transpired in the moments before the suspect’s death, investigators seemed to believe that the dad was within his rights to use lethal force to defend himself and his daughter.
This is the perfect example of a loving and protective father. His daughter’s life was threatened, so he took the necessary measures to ensure she was safe from harm — a steady hand and a quick trigger finger.
