An investigation is underway after an off-duty DeLand police officer shot and killed his uncle following a family squabble at a home in Deltona, according to the Volusia County Sheriff's Office.

The shooter, a DeLand police officer who was off duty at the time of the shooting, said she shot his 68-year-old uncle because he was fighting and choking the officer’s mother during an argument.

The Volusia County Sheriff's Office is investigating the deadly shooting.

Deputies were dispatched to the home along Tradewinds Drive after deputies received a 911 call about the shooting at 6:34 p.m.

When deputies arrived to the scene a few minutes later, the victim of the shooting was already dead. The shooter initially told deputies he retrieved the gun and fired because his uncle was choking his mother during a "heated argument and he was unable to break it up."

The argument took place in the living room.

No one else was home at the time of the shooting. The shooter and his mother were being interviewed at the scene and no charges have been filed, deputies said.



The State Attorney's Office has been called in to investigate the shooting. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement won't be involved in the investigation because the police officer was off-duty at the time of the shooting.

