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New video shows man shooting Polk County deputy

Gabriel Batista, 41, faces multiple charges

Polk County Sheriff's Office releases video showing man shoot deputy. (Polk County Sheriff's Office)

POLK COUNTY, Fla. – New video released Monday by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office shows a man shooting a deputy, who was saved by his bulletproof vest, officials said.

Gabriel Batista, 41, is accused of shooting a deputy in the chest last week in the Tanglewood Preserve subdivision in Davenport.

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According to the sheriff’s office, two deputies responded to the Davenport home for a disturbance between Batista and his estranged wife.

Sheriff Grady Judd said Batista approached the deputies at the home with his hands behind his back.

The surveillance video from the driveway of the home shows two deputies walk toward Batista, who then begins walking backward toward a car parked on the street. He continues walking backward with his hands behind his back.

As Batista is in front of the vehicle, the deputies pull out their weapons — which Judd said was a Taser and handgun — and Batista continued walking backward to the other side of the vehicle.

The deputies follow him until he reaches the back of the vehicle and he then pulls out a gun and fires six shots at the deputies, according to Judd. The video then shows Batista run toward the driveway and fall.

“The suspect shot at Deputy Nunez six times. He struck him one time, center mass, right in the center of the chest. Out of the six shots,” Judd said during a news conference last week. “That was a blessing. It was a blessing because our deputy was wearing his bulletproof vest and he was wearing the St. Michael’s medallion that he says he never leaves home.”

The sheriff’s office said Batista was uninjured and arrested.

He faces charges of attempted first-degree murder of a law enforcement officer, written threat to kill, resisting with violence and discharging a firearm on residential property.

Gabriel Batista, 41, accused of shooting Polk County deputy. (Polk County Sheriff's Office)

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About the Author
Brenda Argueta headshot

Brenda Argueta is a digital journalist who joined ClickOrlando.com in March 2021. She is the author of the Central Florida Happenings newsletter that goes out every Thursday.

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