A Florida man fatally shot a sheriff’s deputy Sunday after setting fire to a house as part of a plot to ambush first responders.
Curtis Wade Holley shot and killed one of the deputies who responded to the fire in suburban Tallahassee.
Police said the 53-year-old Holley had previously expressed anti-government views and made threats against police, and his name and address were flagged in the local law enforcement computer system.
However, Deputy Chris Smith was not aware of Holley’s threats because the dispatcher who logged the call entered the address of a neighbor who reported the fire.
The 47-year-old married father of two was killed almost immediately after arriving at 10:22 a.m. by Holley – who was fatally shot by police following a 12-minute gun battle.
Police said Holley set fire to the home where he’d lived for about a year and then waited for it to become fully engulfed before asking a next-door neighbor to call 911.
"It was a 100 percent ambush," said Lt. James McQuaig, of the Leon County Sheriff's Office. "This guy had a plan and he put this plan into action."
Holley was convicted 10 years ago in Texas for driving under a suspended license, but no other charges or convictions show up on his record.
Police did not release additional details about Holley’s alleged extremist views or threatening comments.
The shooting took place two days after a police shootout at nearby Florida State University left a gunman dead after he wounded two students and an employee.
A Texas man executed a similar plot in August by setting fire to a Dumpster and then shooting at law enforcement officers to protest police shootings and encourage voter participation.
Watch this video report posted online by the Tallahassee Democrat:
