A man who had been shooting more than 200 rounds at a condominium complex in Ormond-on-the-Sea was fatally shot by a sniper from the Florida law enforcement. The incident unfolded during the morning hours on Thursday as deputies responded to the escalating situation.
The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office identified the man as Joseph DiFusco and said that somehow no one else was injured.
According to Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood, the man, identified as DiFusco, had been staying alone in an Airbnb unit at the Kingston Shores Condominium. Chitwood mentioned during a news conference that DiFusco’s family had relocated to the Palm Coast area out of fear for their safety, indicating that they were afraid of him.
Chitwood said deputies had been called three times in the past four days but didn’t say why DiFusco was still free to start firing Thursday morning.
Chitwood explained that the initial purpose of the law enforcement presence was for a well-being check, serving a yet-to-be-signed ex-parte order, and responding to a medical issue. The situation quickly took a dangerous turn when the man began indiscriminately firing shots, putting the deputies and the surrounding community at risk.
The first calls came in Thursday morning at about 6 a.m. saying he was shooting at other properties in the complex. When deputies arrived, he barricaded himself inside his unit and continued firing.
“Probably he has fired close to 200-plus rounds. I’m sure when you’ll see the crime scene, some of the apartments are littered, the façade is just shot up. There’s rounds in people’s homes,” Chitwood said. “He shot at our negotiators, at the speaker on the truck. He shot at the SWAT truck when it pulled up. He retreated into a back bedroom. We were able to send in tear gas and kind of corner him, but it was obvious that he wasn’t coming out. He was armed with at least a shotgun, a handgun and a Tommy gun.”
DiFusco refused to speak with deputies, the sheriff said, responding only with gunfire.
Police put out a notice of the trouble at about 9:30 a.m., telling people to avoid the area. By 11:30, the Facebook posts said the man was still shooting. Shortly after noon, however, DiFusco was dead, brought down by a sniper.
The sheriff’s office said the Florida Department of Law Enforcement would investigate the shooting.
