Deputies shoot growling Florida man dead after ‘bizarre’ standoff — and just moments after he survived alligator attack: Cops

Soon after a Florida man survived an alligator attack on Monday, Polk County Sheriff’s deputies fatally shot him when he emerged from a lake and charged at deputies with garden shears, officials said.

Just before 6 a.m., a clerk at a convenience store in Lakeland told police that a man was acting “bizarre,” according to WTVT-TV.

‘The fact that he was bitten by an alligator significantly and still continued his rampage is shocking.’

The man fled the scene before deputies could question him, the station said.

Around 7:43 a.m., police dispatchers received a tip that a man was swimming in a lake known to be infested with alligators, WTVT reported.

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said in a news conference Monday that an alligator bit the man’s right arm.

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Image source: Polk County (Fla.) Sheriff’s Office

“His conduct was outrageous. It was bizarre,” Judd stated, according to WTVT. “This is crazy stuff. You know it’s got to be true. You can’t make it up.”

Judd pointed out, “A witness actually took a life vest and tried to give it to him. He wouldn’t take it,” NBC News said.

Another witness told police that the man was growling at them when they tried to assist him, WFLA-TV reported.

The suspect — identified as 42-year-old Timothy Schulz — walked out of the lake and grabbed a pair of garden shears, WFLA said, adding that the sheriff’s office said Schulz used a brick to try to break into a vehicle.

Judd said Schulz charged at deputies with the garden shears, NBC News reported, after which the deputies ordered Schulz to drop the shears. Judd said deputies tased him twice after he didn’t comply, WTVT noted.

Judd added that the suspect entered the passenger side of a running patrol vehicle and attempted to take a gun from its holder, WTVT reported.

“At that time, our deputies shot multiple times. As a result, Timothy is deceased,” Judd explained, according to NBC News.

RELATED: Florida woman mauled to death in ‘thrashing’ alligator attack during canoe trip as husband tried to fight off massive beast

Image source: Polk County (Fla.) Sheriff’s Office

Two deputies — a trainee and his trainer — fatally shot the suspect, WFLA reported.

The deputies have been placed on administrative leave while the state’s attorney’s office reviews the police shooting, NBC News said.

Sheriff Judd noted that Schulz has a long criminal history, including several arrests for methamphetamine charges, WFLA noted.

Schulz had just been released from county jail on May 20, NBC News said, adding that an arrest affidavit in that case indicates police discovered a glass pipe in a backpack Schulz was carrying that tested positive for meth.

“The fact that he was bitten by an alligator significantly and still continued his rampage is shocking, but if you’re on enough meth, the person you see is not the person that’s attacking,” Sheriff Judd said, according to WFLA.

A witness saw deputies pulling the man out of the patrol car and starting to give him CPR, WFLA added.

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Image source: Polk County (Fla.) Sheriff’s Office

“I don’t know if this is a suicide by cop or a suicide by being absolutely out of your mind on methamphetamine, but he showed no fear of two deputies,” Judd said, according to WFLA. “He showed no interest in complying. Even after he was tased, he still ran. And one of our witnesses said, ‘I don’t know why the deputies waited so long before they shot him.'”

WFLA said Judd added, “When you’re on, you know, meth or whatever, crack cocaine, or whatever it might be, you’re sometimes out of your mind.”

No deputies were injured, WTVT said.

You can watch a local newscast from WTVT regarding the strange case here.

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