Pinellas Park man killed in officer-involved shooting: PCSO

Officer-involved shooting in Pinellas Park

Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri shares the latest after an officer-involved shooting in Pinellas Park.

PINELLAS PARK, Fla. - A Pinellas Park man is dead after an officer-involved shooting at a home he was renting on the 4300 block of 82nd Ave. N on Sunday morning, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office.

What we know:

Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri shared details on Sunday, saying that this all started when a homeowner contacted law enforcement to report that they thought their renter was trashing the place.

With the renter's lease ending on Sunday, detectives arrived at the residence where they found Eric Ton, 42, barricaded inside the home with a knife.

A standoff ensued, and Ton stayed barricaded inside until officers decided to move in on him through the garage door with shields and non-lethal rounds.

Ton was told several times to drop the knife and officers used non-lethal rounds in an attempt to subdue him. Detectives say he then lunged at and struck officer Graham Fox with the knife in the upper left shoulder.

Courtesy: Pinellas County Sheriff's Office.

Officer Greyson Ekdahl-McBride fired several shots, striking Ton in the upper body.

He was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.

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What they're saying:

Gualtieri says that his team went into the home with the intention of a different outcome.

"They went in with the shields, they went in with the less-lethal rounds, they went in trying not to have this be the result, but he made the decision for this to be the result by going after the officers."

Officer Fox received a small laceration from the knife and Gualtieri says he will be fine.

"This has nothing to do with the officers. They were acting to do their job, and they were acting to protect themselves, and they had a very, very sound, tactical plan because they knew he had a knife," Gualtieri said. "They had a person that was barricaded in there, and they knew they had to get out."

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