Hours-long barricade ends with deadly deputy-involved shooting in Hernando County

Officials say a sheriff's deputy fatally shot a 61-year-old man who investigators say pointed a rifle at law enforcement officers ending a 12-hour standoff in Spring Hill.

Hernando County Sheriff Al Nienhuis says James Collins came out of the house on Embassy Avenue around 1 a.m. Wednesday, holding a rifle with a flashlight and ammunition magazines taped to it. The sheriff says Collins may have wanted to provoke a shootout.

The standoff began as a domestic incident, which injured one person around 12:20 p.m. Tuesday. Deputies say they spent more than 12 hours negotiating with the subject, who was alone inside the home. At any given time, 30 to 40 members of law enforcement were outside the home, including SWAT members. 

A deputy fired a single shot when Collins pointed the rifle.

HCSO spokesperson Michael Terry said at no point did law enforcement enter the home, bu the withheld comment pending further investigation.

"Obviously, we wouldn't just shoot somebody," Terry added. "There had to be underlying circumstances."

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.