A 57-year-old man is dead in what deputies believe could have been a case of “suicide by cop.” Lake County deputies were called to a home on Foxfire Lane, a rural dirt road, around 5 pm Saturday for a “wellness check.” Family members told authorities the man, Thomas Scott Henry, who would have been 57 years old Sunday, posted messages on Facebook indicating he wanted to kill himself and saying “goodbye” to friends and family. When deputies arrived they say Henry pointed his gun out his window firing at neighbors who were standing at the end of his driveway. He then pointed his gun at one of the deputies who then opened fire. No deputies, or neighbors, were hurt during the incident. It is unclear how many shots were fired or exchanged. The man was taken to a DeLand hospital where he was pronounced dead. “With domestic violence calls, suicide calls, those are the most dangerous ones that a deputy can go to,” said Sgt. Fred Jones with the Lake County Sheriff’s Office. “Because they can end up being suicide by cop. Or a person could go from suicidal to homicidal. So it’s a scary situation.” The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating, which is standard procedure in deputy-involved shootings.

A 57-year-old man is dead in what deputies believe could have been a case of “suicide by cop.”

Lake County deputies were called to a home on Foxfire Lane, a rural dirt road, around 5 pm Saturday for a “wellness check.” Family members told authorities the man, Thomas Scott Henry, who would have been 57 years old Sunday, posted messages on Facebook indicating he wanted to kill himself and saying “goodbye” to friends and family.


When deputies arrived they say Henry pointed his gun out his window firing at neighbors who were standing at the end of his driveway. He then pointed his gun at one of the deputies who then opened fire.

No deputies, or neighbors, were hurt during the incident.

It is unclear how many shots were fired or exchanged. The man was taken to a DeLand hospital where he was pronounced dead.

“With domestic violence calls, suicide calls, those are the most dangerous ones that a deputy can go to,” said Sgt. Fred Jones with the Lake County Sheriff’s Office. “Because they can end up being suicide by cop. Or a person could go from suicidal to homicidal. So it’s a scary situation.”

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating, which is standard procedure in deputy-involved shootings.